UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT   LOS  ANGELES 


THE  GREAT  EPICS 


OF 


MEDIEVAL    GERMANY. 


©utline  of  tfjeir  Contents  anfc 


BY 


GEORGE  THEODORE   DIPPOLD, 

PROFESSOR    AT    BOSTON    UNIVERSITY   AND   WELLESLEY   COLLEGE. 


BOSTON: 
ROBERTS     BROTHERS. 

,289?         I8*« 


/I  >V  1  o  cr 


Copyright,  1882, 
BY  ROBERTS  BROTHERS. 


UNIVERSITY  PRESS: 
JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON,  CAMBRIDGE. 


TO 

WILLIAM    F.   WARREN, 

PRESIDENT  OF   BOSTON    UNIVERSITY, 

THIS    VOLUME    IS    RESPECTFULLY    DEDICATED 

13a  tfje  anttjor. 


PEEFACE. 


THE  period  of  the  Middle  Ages  has  been  graphi- 
cally designated  by  Ludwig  Uhland  as  a  night  of  a 
thousand  years.  Yet,  as  the  great  poet  remarked, 
this  night  was  illuminated  by  brilliant  stars.  It  will 
be  our  object  to  cast  a  glance  at  some  of  them,  and 
see  how  their  light  shone  through  the  darkness  which 
enshrouded  all  Europe  at  that  memorable  epoch. 
The  very  life  and  soul  of  nations,  and  particularly 
of  ancient  nations,  is  expressed  in  their  poetry ;  thus, 
when  we  attempt  to  study  the  very  life  and  soul  of 
Mediaeval  Germany,  and  try  to  grasp  its  world  of 
ideas,  we  must  turn  to  its  poetry. 

As  is  indicated  on  the  titlepage,  only  the  great 
epics  of  Mediaeval  Germany  will  be  considered  in 
this  volume,  and  nothing  but  an  outline  of  their  con- 
tents and  history  is  to  be  given.  Such  a  sketch 
ought  to  be  the  mirror  in  which  the  main  features 
'of  the  subject  are  faithfully  reflected;  in  fact,  in 


VI  PREFACE. 

whatever  manner  we  may  endeavor  to  call  Tip  before 
our  eyes  the  picture  of  the  past,  it  is  only  through 
a  mirror,  as  it  were,  that  we  can  behold  its  living 
forms. 

Although  no  claim  is  made  to  present  here  any- 
thing like  a  history  of  Mediaeval  German  poetry,  it 
will  be  found  that  the  subject,  as  it  comes  within  the 
scope  of  the  plan  announced,  has  been  more  fully 
treated  on  the  following  pages  than  in  any  work 
hitherto  published  in  this  country  or  in  England. 
It  is  believed  that  the  space  and  consideration  de- 
voted to  the  poems  are  in  just  proportion  to  their 
importance.  The  Introduction  is  intended  to  convey 
merely  the  most  indispensable  information  in  regard 
to  Old  German  poetry.  In  the  remarks  on  the  Nibe- 
lungen  Lied  and  on  Gudrun,  I  am  of  course  under 
general  obligations  to  the  works  of  the  great  scholars 
who  made  a  specialty  of  the  subject.  Whenever  I 
have  been  particularly  indebted  to  any  one,  the  fact 
has  been  stated  in  the  proper  place.  It  will  be  suffi- 
cient here  to  refer  to  the  well-known  names  of  Lach- 
mann,  the  brothers  Grimm,  Mullenhoff,  Zarncke, 
Bartsch,  Easzmann,  Simrock,  Hermann  Fischer,  and 
Heinrich  Fischer.  In  the  sketch  of  the  development 
of  the  Arthur  Saga  I  have  been  under  special  obliga- 
tions to  the  works  of  San  Marte  (Schulz),  and  for 


PREFACE.  Vil 

a  few  of  the  suggestions  contained  in  Parzival,  I 
have  availed  myself  of  Simrock's  introduction  to  the 
poem. 

The  translations  in  this  volume  are,  unless  other- 
wise stated,  my  own.  It  is  hoped  that  the  attempt 
which  has  been  made  on  the  following  pages  to 
awaken  and  strengthen  the  interest  in  Mediaeval 
German  literature  will  not  fail  to  attain  its  object. 

G.  T.  D. 

BOSTON  UNIVERSITY,  Sept.  1,  1882. 


ERRATA. 

Page  60,  in  footnote,  for  Ziir  read  Zur. 

"  63,  fourth  line  from  bottom,  for  Guita-heath  read  Gnita-heath. 

"  138,  14th  line  from  top,  for  Sanct  Gallen,  read  Saint  Gall. 

"  147,  19th    "      "      "      paragraph  should  be  numbered  IV. 

"  149,    9th    "       "      "      for  IV.  read  V. 

"  150,  19th    "      "      "      for  V.  read  VI. 

"  173,  15th    "      "       "      for  Schelde  read  Scheldt. 

"  226,  footnote,  for  t  p.  321,  read  t  p.  253. 

'  300,  llth  line  from  top,  for  Nother  read  Notker. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 
INTRODUCTION xi 

CHAPTER  I. 
OUTLINE  OF  THE  NIBELUNGEN  LIED.  —  PART  I.  ...        1 

CHAPTER  II. 

OUTLINE  OF  THE  NIBELUNGEN  LIED. — PART  II.      .    .      24 

CHAPTER  III. 

I.    THE    NlBELUNG  EPICS  AND    SAGAS   IN   THE   NORTH. — 

II.  THE  LAY  OF  SIEGFRIED 48 

CHAPTER  IY. 

THE  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  THE  NORTHERN  AND  THE  GER- 
MAN NIBELUNG  TRADITIONS,  AND  THE  INFLUENCE 
OF  HISTORY  ON  THE  SAGA 82 

CHAPTER  V. 
I.  THE  MYTHICAL  ELEMENTS  OF  THE  NIBELUNG  STORY 

AND   THEIR     COMBINATION    WITH     THE     SAGA    AND 


Xll  INTRODUCTION. 

prehistoric  darkness ;  they  were  a  dim  foreboding  of 
the  bright  sunlight  which  afterwards  broke  forth  in 
full  splendor  in  the  early  epic  literature  of  the  Hin- 
dus, Persians,  Greeks,  and  Teutons,  when  the  ancient 
mythical  elements  had  been  interwoven  with  the  his- 
tory or  saga-lore  of  world-renowned  heroes. 

Of  a  character  very  different  from  these  poems, 
which  are  of  popular  growth,  is  another  class  of  epic 
literature  which  is  not  based,  as  it  were,  on  the 
spontaneous  expression  of  a  nation's  life,  —  not  the 
poetic  document  of  popular  feeling  and  tradition, 
—  but  is  the  creation  of  individual  artistic  genius. 
Thus,  while  the  popular  poet  or  the  compiler  of  popu- 
lar lays  disappears  behind  his  work,  and  is  nothing 
but  the  guardian  of  the  national  treasure,  the  com- 
poser of  the  so-called  art-poems  takes  individual  shape 
in  his  productions,  and  often  enriches  his  material 
with  new  inventions.  The  distinction  between  these 
two  classes  of  epics  is  particularly  marked  in  Medi- 
aeval German  poetry,  and  is  therefore  commonly  em- 
phasized by  German  writers,  especially  by  A.  Vilrnar 
in  his  "  History  of  German  Literature ; "  it  has  also 
been  adopted  by  others,  —  for  instance,  by  Bayard  Tay- 
lor in  his  excellent  "  Studies  in  German  Literature." 
Yet,  in  spite  of  the  general  difference  of  the  two  kinds 
of  epic  poems,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  distinction 
does  not  hold  good  in  every  particular,  and  cannot  be 
carried  out  too  rigidly.  Both  classes  exerted  some 
influence  on  each  other,  and  the  spirit  which  per- 
meated Germany  during  the  Middle  Ages  smoothed 
somewhat  the  contrast  between  them.  Again,  they 


INTRODUCTION.  xiii 

may  be  said  to  have  a  similar  origin  from  the  fact 
that  the  'cultivation  and  preservation  of  the  ancient 
traditions  was  chiefly  due  to  the  poets  and  singers  in 
the  retinue  of  the  early  German  kings,  especially  dur- 
ing the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries,  when  the  old  heroic 
lays  were  sung  at  the  royal  banquets  and  on  similar 
occasions,  while  the  so-called  art  or  court  poetry 
(Jlunftpoefte ;  £iififd)e  $oefte)  of  a  later  era,  whose  chief 
representatives  are  Wolfram  von  Eschenbach,  Gott- 
fried von  Strassburg,  and  Hartmann  von  Aue,  was 
likewise  particularly  cherished  at  the  royal  courts 
and  at  the  castles  of  the  nobility.  Many  of  the  sing- 
ers of  the  old  popular  lays  were  at  the  same  time 
warriors  of  great  renown,  and  the  composers  of  the 
art  poems  belonged  chiefly  to  the  lower  nobility ; 
thus  both  were,  generally  speaking,  of  the  same  rank 
in  the  society  of  their  times,  and  the  art  epics  are  in 
this  sense  merely  a  new  form  of  the  early  heroic 
poetry.  Yet  the  subject  matter  of  the  former  was 
mostly  taken  from  foreign  sources,  especially  from 
French  poems  and  legends,  while  the  theme  of  the  an- 
cient lays  consisted  pre-eminently  of  national  myths 
and  sagas,  from  which  originated  -afterwards,  by  the 
blending  of  different  saga-cycles  and  by  the  addition 
of  historical  facts,  the  greatest  popular  poem  of  Me- 
diaeval Germany,  —  the  Nibelungen  Lied. 

Little  is  known  of  the  very  earliest  epoch  of  Ger- 
man poetry,  and  this  scanty  information  is  derived 
mainly  from  the  writings  of  Tacitus.  He  relates 
that  the  Germans  celebrated  in  ancient  lays  their 
earth-born  god,  Tuisco,  and  his  son  Mannus,  the 


xiv  INTRODUCTION. 

supposed  ancestors  and  founders  of  their  race.  In 
their  battle  songs  they  invoked  especially  their  god  of 
war,  to  whom  Tacitus  gives  the  name  of  Hercules ;  and 
the  issue  of  the  contest  was  surmised  from  the  sounds 
of  the  war  song,  which  was  called  barditva  (from  Old 
Norse  bardhi,  meaning  a  shield),  as  by  holding  the 
shield  near  the  mouth  the  sounds  reverberated  with 
great  force  and  the  warriors  were  aroused  to  martial  ex- 
citement. There  were  also  some  lays  in  honor  of  Ar- 
minius,  the  leader  of  the  Cherusci,  who  freed  Germany 
from  the  Eoman  yoke  ;  although  they  have  perished, 
the  memory  of  the  great  chieftain  has  been  preserved 
by  the  Roman  historian,  whose  race  was  the  inveter- 
ate enemy  of  the  Germans.  According  to  Jornandes, 
who  wrote  about  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century,  the 
Goths  had  very  ancient  songs  in  which  the  exploits 
of  their  early  kings  and  heroes  were  related.  At  that 
almost  prehistoric  era  of  Germany  there  existed  also 
at  least  the  germs  for  the  material  of  two  sagas  which 
afterwards,  though  greatly  transformed,  became  re- 
nowned in  songs  and  tales.  These  are  the  saga  of 
Siegfried,  the  Nibelung,  and  the  saga  of  the  wolf  and 
fox,  Isengrim  and  Eeinhart. 

The  condition  of  the  German  tribes  was  deeply 
affected  by  the  migration  of  the  races  and  by  the 
introduction  of  Christianity.  The  influence  of  both 
these  agencies,  by  which  Germany  was  at  the  same 
time  brought  into  close  connection  with  the  Roman 
world,-  will  be  considered  hereafter,  as  far  as  it  is  ne- 
cessary for  our  purpose.  In  this  place  it  is  sufficient 
to  state  that  the  clergy  sought  to  destroy  the  old 


INTRODUCTION.  XV 

native  poetry,  as  it  took  more  or  less  of  its  inspi- 
ration and  material  from  the  ancient  belief  of  the 
people.  The  church  was  generally  aided  in  these 
endeavors  by  the  princes  and  nobles ;  yet  in  spite 
of  their  combined  efforts  it  was  not  possible  to  eradi- 
cate at  once  and  entirely  the  old  religion.  Many 
traces  of  it  can  be  seen  even  at  the  present  day  in 
the  customs  and  manners  as  well  as  in  the  supersti- 
tions and  festal  plays  of  the  common  people.  It  was 
only  after  Karl  the  Great  caused  the  old  heroic  songs 
to  be  collected,  that  the  clergy  began  to  pay  some 
attention  to  native  poetry ;  moreover  the  church- 
men of  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries  reproduced 
some  of  the  ancient  sagas  in  Latin,  as  we  see  from 
Waltharius  and  a  few  other  poems  of  that  time. 

Since  the  sixth  century  there  is  abundant  evidence 
of  the  existence  and  development  of  the  great  Ger- 
man hero-sagas.  At  that  epoch  there  appeared  in 
tradition  the  famous  personages  of  the  Gothic  king 
Hermanric;  of  Dietrich  von  Bern,  the  historic 
Theodoric  the  Great ;  of  Siegfried,  the  Nibelung ;  of 
the  Burgundian  Gunther ;  of  Attila,  the  king  of  the 
Huns  ;  and  many  other  saga-renowned  heroes  with 
their  champions.  Yet,  although  we  know  from  the 
historians  and  chroniclers  of  that  time  and  from 
Anglo-Saxon  and  Icelandic  poems,  that  the  deeds  of 
those  heroes  were  celebrated  in  song,  there  is  but 
very  little  in  German  literature  that  has  been  trans- 
mitted to  us  from  that  era,  in  the  form  in  which  it  then 
existed.  Moreover,  of  the  two  poems  which  we  possess 
from  that  period,  the  one  is  not  complete,  and  the 


XVI  INTRODUCTION. 

other- is  composed  in  Latin.  The  first  is  the  "  Lay  of 
Hildebrand  "  (Hildebrandslied)  ;  the  second  is  called 
"  Waltharius  de  Aquitania  "  (Walther  von  Aquitanien). 
The  Lay  of  Hildebrand  was  written  down  at  the 
beginning  of  the  ninth  century,  and  its  contents  be- 
long to  the  saga-cycle  of  Dietrich  von  Bern.  Accord- 
ing to  tradition  Dietrich  had  been  driven  from  his 
home  and  realm  by  his  enemies,  whose  leader  ap- 
pears here  as  Otacher,  the  historic  Odoacer,  whereupon 
he  went  with  his  valiant  and  faithful  friend  and 
weapon-master  Hildebrand  to  Attila's  court,  to  seek 
there  help  and  protection.  After  the  contest,  which 
is  depicted  in  the  last  part  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied, 
and  the  defeat  of  Odoacer,  they  returned  home.  There, 
at  his  departure  thirty  years  ago,  Hildebrand  had 
left  a  youthful  wife  and  a  little  son.  The  latter 
was  named  Hadubrand,  and  in  the  meantime  had 
grown  up  to  manhood.  As  soon  as  Hildebrand  with 
his  retinue  entered  his  native  country  he  was  con- 
fronted by  his  son  and  his  warriors.  Before  they 
engaged  in  combat,  Hildebrand  asked  the  name  of 
his  adversary ;  and  when  he  learned  that  it  was  his 
son  who  opposed  him,  he  sought  to  avoid  the  con- 
test. He  offered  him  his  golden  bracelets,  which 
were  a  gift  of  Attila  and  an  ornament  the  like  of 
which  was  much  coveted  by  the  German  warriors 
of  that  time.  But  Hadubrand  refused  them,  and 
retorted,  "  Gifts  shall  be  received  with  the  spear, 
sword  point  against  sword  point;  thou  art  an  old 
cunning  Hun,  who  meanest  to  deceive  me  in  order 
to  kill  me  the  more  surely  with  the  spear."  He  also 


INTRODUCTION.  xvii 

added  that  seafarers  had  brought  him  the  tidings  of 
Hildebrand's  death.  Hildebrand  exclaimed:  "Woe 
is  me !  O  ruling  God !  woful  fate  will  be  accom- 
plished. Sixty  summers  and  winters  I  have  wan- 
dered about.  .  .  .  Now  my  own  son  will  strike  me  dead 
with  the  sword,  or  I  shall  be  his  slayer.  .  .  .  But  he 
would  be  the  most  cowardly  of  the  Ostrogoths  who 
would  now  refuse  the  combat,  since  thou  hast  so  great 
a  desire  for  strife."  Then  father  and  son  hurled  their 
spears,  made  from  the  wood  of  the  ash-tree,  against 
each  other,  and  grimly  fought  with  their  swords  so 
that  the  shields  were  hewn  to  pieces  by  their  blows. 
Here  the  poem  breaks  off.  The  contest  probably 
ended  with  the  death  of  the  son,  as  might  be  inferred 
from  a  comparison  with  similar  sagas  ;  for  instance, 
with  the  Persian  story  of  Rustum  and  Sohrab,  told  by 
Firdusi  and  rendered  into  beautiful  English  by  Mat- 
thew Arnold.*  The  story  in  the  Gallic  poem  of 
Conlach  and  Cuchullin  bears  also  a  great  resemblance 
to  the  German  lay.  The  latter  was  preserved,  in 
the  fragmentary  shape  in  which  we  possess  it,  by 
a  very  fortunate  chance.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
ninth  century  two  monks  of  the  famous  convent  of 
Fulda,  who  perhaps  had  been  warriors  before  they 
withdrew  from  the  world,  as  often  happened  at  that 
time,  wrote  what  they  remembered  of  the  great 
poem  on  the  first  and  last  blank  leaves  of  their 
Prayer-book.  It  seems  that  they  alternately  dictated 
and  wrote.  Since  the  thirty  years'  war  the  manu- 
script has  belonged  to  the  library  at  Kassel.  It  is 

*  Into  German  by  Kiickert. 


XV111  INTRODUCTION. 

composed  in  the  Low  German  language,  yet  with 
many  High  German  forms.  Therefore  some  scholars 
suppose  that  it  was  originally  written  in  the  High 
German  language,  and  transformed  into  the  Low  Ger- 
man by  the  copyist.  The  Lay  of  Hildebrand  was 
sung  by  the  people  for  many  centuries,  and  about 
seven  hundred  years  after  the  composition  of  the 
original  work  it  was  revived  in  a  new  form  by  Kas- 
par  von  der  Eoen.  The  latter's  poem,  although  in- 
ferior to  its  model,  is  not  devoid  of  a  certain  beauty 
in  the  description  of  the  events.  The  title  is  "  The 
Father  and  the  Son  "  (Der  Vater  mit  dem  Sohn).  In 
this  version  of  the  story  Hildebrand  defeats  Hadu- 
brand  in  the  combat,  and  both  return  together  to  the 
wife  and  mother.  Bayard  Taylor  characterized  the 
importance  of  the  ancient  Lay  of  Hildebrand  in  a  . 
very  appropriate  manner  when  he  says :  "  As  we  find 
the  first  written  basis  of  the  language  in  the  Gothic 
Gospels  of  Ulfilas,  so  we  find  the  first  surviving  relic 
of  a  native  autochthonous  German  literature  in  the 
Song  of  Hildebrand."  In  the  Vilcina  Saga  *  Hilde- 
brand overcomes  and  wounds  his  son,  whereupon  the 
latter  yields ;  but  when  he  is  about  to  give  up  his 
sword  to  his  father,  he  treacherously  aims  a  blow  at 
his  hand.  Then  Hildebrand  exclaims,  "  Not  thy  fa- 
ther, but  a  woman,  taught  thee  this  blow." 

"  Waltharius  de  Aquitauia,"  or  "  Waltharius  manu 
fortis,"  is  written  in  Latin  hexameters,  and  based  on  a 
German  poem  of  the  tenth  century  which  has  been  lost. 
The  Latin  epic  was  composed  in  the  convent  of  Saint 

*  Page  56. 


INTRODUCTION.  xix 

Gall  by  the  monk  Eckehard  I.  (who  died  in  973),  or 
by  his  contemporary  Geraldus,  or  by  both  together, 
and  was  afterwards  revised  and  remodelled  by  Ecke- 
hard IV.,  a  monk  of  the  same  convent,  who  died  about 
the  year  1060.  Although  this  work  is  written  in  the 
Latin  language,  the  power  inherent  in  the  German 
epic  poetry  of  that  time  and  the  grandeur  of  the  old 
hero  sagas  are  still  visible  under  the  foreign  garb. 
The  contents  of  the  poem,  which  belongs  to  the  saga- 
cycles  of  Attila  and  Gunther,  are  briefly  as  follows. 
King  Gibich  ruled  at  Worms  on  the  Ehine  over  the 
Franks,  and  had  been  forced  to  submit  to  the  power 
of  Attila.  As  Gibich's  son  Gunther  was  then  very 
young,  Hagen  was  sent  as  a  hostage  to  Attila's  court, 
together  with  a  great  treasure.  Burgundy  had  also 
been  compelled  to  yield  to  the  might  of  the  Huns, 
as  well  as  Aquitania,  the  realm  of  the  Visigoths. 
The  king  of  Burgundy  had  to  surrender  his  only 
daughter  Hildeguud  to  the  victors,  while  a  simi- 
lar fate  overtook  the  king  of  Aquitania,  who  was 
obliged  to  part  with  his  son  Walther.  Both  Hilde- 
gund  and  Walther  were  held  as  hostages  at  Attila's 
court  in  Pannonia  (Hungary) ;  but  they,  as  well  as 
Hagen,  were  kindly  treated  by  the  powerful  chief. 
Hagen  and  Walther  distinguished  themselves  by 
great  valor,  while  Hildegund  enjoyed  the  confidence 
of  the  queen,  who  intrusted  the  royal  treasure  to 
her  care ;  yet  all  three  longed  for  their  homes  and 
friends,  and  thought  of  flight.  Hagen,  after  hearing 
that  Gibich  had  died,  and  that  Gunther  refused  to 
pay  the  tribute,  escaped  and  safely  arrived  at  Worms. 


XX  INTRODUCTION. 

Later  "Walther  fled  with  Hildegund  and  the  treas- 
ure of  the  Franks.  When  they  reached  the  Rhine 
near  Worms,  they  gave  to  the  ferryman,  to  set 
them  across  the  river,  the  last  fishes  which  they  had, 
and  which  came  from  the  Danube.  The  ferryman 
carried  them  to  the  royal  cook,  and  when  they  were 
served  at  table,  Gunther  exclaimed  that  such  fishes 
were  not  found  in  Frankland.  Then  Hagen  said, 
"  WTalther  has  returned  from  the  land  of  the  Huns." 
Contrary  to  Hagen's  advice,  Gunther  determined  to 
pursue  Walther  and  despoil  him  of  his  treasure. 
Walther,  after  crossing  the  Rhine,  reached  the  Vosges 
(Wasichenwald),  and  there  in  a  narrow  defile  of  the 
mountains  the  contest  took  place.  Hagen,  despite 
Gunther's  scornful  remarks,  took  at  first  no  part  in  the 
attacks  on  his  friend,  but  from  a  neighboring  hill  looked 
down  upon  the  combats  of  the  warriors.  Walther 
defeated  and  slew  Gunther's  champions  one  after  the 
other,  and  each  encounter  is  depicted  with  great  vi- 
vacity. The  poet  gives  a  fine  delineation  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  combatants.  Each  warrior  uses  different 
arms,  and  each  victory  differs  from  the  others.  Vil- 
mar  does  not  speak  in  too  laudatory  terms  when  he 
says  that  some  of  the  scenes  of  battle  are  not  sur- 
passed by  any  descriptions  that  can  be  found  in  the 
Homeric  poems.  At  last  Gunther  went  to  Hagen  to 
induce  him  to  take  part  in  the  combat.  Hagen 
thought  of  his  sincere  friendship  for  Walther,  and 
hesitated  for  some  time,  although  his  nephew  had 
been  slain  by  Walther.  Yet,  since  all  their  friends 
had  fallen,  he  advised  Gunther  to  depart  from  the 


INTRODUCTION.  Xxi 

place,  so  that  Walther  might  think  they  had  returned 
to  Worms.  Then,  after  he  had  left  his  strongly 
fortified  position  in  the  defile,  they  could  pursue  him 
and  attack  him  from  the  rear.  They  did  so,  and  in 
this  last  combat,  in  which  two  fought  against  one, 
Guuther  lost  a  foot,  Walther  his  right  arm,  and 
Hagen  an  eye  and  some  of  his  teeth.  The  fight  be- 
ing ended,  the  heroes  were  reconciled,  and  Hilde- 
gund  with  trembling  hands  bound  up  their  wounds. 
Walther  returned  home  and  celebrated  his  wedding 
feast  with  Hildegund.  After  his  father's  death  he 
reigned  thirty  years  in  peace  and  glory. 

As  we  have  shown  that  there  are  a  few  instances  in 
which  the  clergy  tried  at  times  to  revive  the  old  na- 
tional lays,  we  may  now  devote  a  very  brief  space  to 
the  consideration  of  another  class  of  epics,  —  to  ec- 
clesiastical poetry  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word, 
the  material  of  which  is  taken  from  the  teachings  of 
Christianity  and  especially  from  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
The  most  important  works  here  are  the  old  Saxon  allit- 
erative epic  "  Heliand,"  and  Otfried's  Old  High  Ger- 
man "  Harmony  of  the  Gospels,"  also  called  "  Krist," 
which  is  the  first  work  composed  in  rhymes.  The 
Heliand  (ffeUand,  Saviour)  was  written  by  a  Saxon 
singer  who  is  reported  to  have  been  a  peasant,  that  is, 
an  uneducated  layman.  The  work  was  undertaken 
at  the  request  of  Louis  le  Debonnaire  (Ludwig  der 
Fromme),  and  was  accomplished  between  the  years 
825  and  835.  According  to  tradition  a  supernatural 
voice  had  aroused  the  poet  to  compose  sacred  songs, 
and  it  is  very  probable  that  the  story  of  the  Anglo- 


xxii  INTRODUCTION. 

Saxon  Csedmon  was  here  transferred  to  the  author  of 
the  Heliand.  The  poem  is  a  very  remarkable  work, 
and  shows  a  beautiful  blending  of  the  ideas  of  Chris- 
tianity with  the  spirit  of  ancient  Germany.  It  is  a 
truly  Christian  epic  in  which  the  characters  and 
situations  are  Saxon.  Vilmar  says  correctly :  "  When 
the  Lord  begins  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  the  whole 
scene  is  depicted  in  those  grand  forms  in  which  the 
council  of  the  German  kings,  princes,  and  dukes 
took  place  before  the  eyes  of  the  army  and  the 
people."  The  poem  is  throughout  truly  German, 
as  it  is  truly  Christian ;  the  language  is  vigorous, 
simple,  and  beautiful.  It  seems  that  the  author 
availed  himself  especially  of  the  "  Harmony  of  the 
Gospels"  by  the  Alexandrian  Ammonius,  whose  work 
was  based  chiefly  on  St.  Matthew.  An  epic  very 
different  from  the  Heliand,  and  composed  about 
thirty  years  later,  is  Otfried's  "  Krist."  Otfried  was 
probably  a  Frank  and  a  pupil  of  Hrabanus  Maurus, 
yet  he  wrote  his  poem  in  the  Benedictine  convent  of 
Weissenburg  in  Alsace.  He  was  a  scholar,  and  his 
work  contains  many  mystical  and  moral  interpreta- 
tions which  were  fully  in  accordance  with  the  spirit 
of  the  clergy  of  his  time.  We  may  here  again  quote 
Vilmar,  as  he  admirably  expresses  the  character  of 
Otfried's  production  :  "  While  there  [in  the  Heliand] 
we  hear  the  whole  Saxon  nation  with  one  mighty 
voice  sing  the  glory  of  Christ,  the  Shepherd  of  the 
people,  we  have  here  but  the  voice  of  an  individual 
monk,  who  appears  in  almost  every  portion  of  his 
work  with  his  /;  he  relates  rather  than  sings,  and 


INTRODUCTION.  XX111 

although  his  narration  is  often  very  good,  very  appro- 
priate and  feeling,  and  at  times  he  relates  with  a 
sublime  voice  and  a  lofty  soul,  yet  he  merely  relates, 
describes,  and  depicts  the  scenes,  and  often  becomes 
tame,  feeble,  and  diffuse  in  telling  what  there  [in  the 
Heliand]  was  expressed  in  brief,  powerful,  and  strik- 
ing words.  The  poem  as  a  storehouse  of  the  German 
language  is  invaluable,  and  its  value  is,  if  possible, 
increased  by  the  extraordinary  care  and  accuracy  de- 
voted to  the  metrical  part." 

We  may  here  briefly  notice  another  poem,  generally 
known  under  the  name  of  the  "  Ludwigslied."  Its 
author  was  a  clergyman,  and  he  describes  the  victory 
of  the  West  Frankish  King  Ludwig  III.  over  the 
Normans  at  the  battle  of  Saucourt  in  the  year  881. 
The  work  is  of  some  importance,  and  is  the  first 
secular  poem  in  German,  written  by  an  ecclesiastic, 
probably  by  Hucbald,  a  learned  monk,  who  died  in 
930.  Although  the  Ludwigslied  is  not  devoid  of  a 
certain  beauty  in  style  and  expression,  yet  upon  the 
whole  it  cannot  be  compared  with  the  old  epic,  as 
seen  in  the  Lay  of  Hildebrand ;  it  has  none  of  the  force 
and  majesty  of  the  latter.  It  is  properly  a  Leich,  or 
song  written  for  music,  wherein,  as  Bayard  Taylor 
very  appropriately  said,  the  melody  partly  determines 
beforehand  what  words  shall  be  used. 

In  this  place  we  may  make  a  few  general  remarks 
on  early  German  versification.  The  main  principle 
in  German  poetry,  from  the  most  ancient  times  down 
to  the  present  day,  is  that  its  metrical  composition 
is  based  chiefly  on  the  accent  of  the  words,  and  not 


XXIV  INTRODUCTION. 

on  their  quantity,  as  in  Latin  and  Greek.  In  Old 
German  a  verse  consists  of  a  certain  number  of 
accented  syllables,  while  unaccented  syllables  may 
stand  between  the  accented  ones.  As  the  latter 
were  thus  of  chief  importance,  the  verses  are  gener- 
ally designated  by  them  alone  without  regard  to  the 
rest.  In  this  sense  it  is  true  that  the  German  verse 
was  originally  composed  of  eight  accented  syllables, 
and  was  divided  into  two  equal  hemistichs,  which 
were  separated  by  a  strong  caesura,  and  connected  by 
alliteration  during  the  earliest  epoch  and  by  the 
rhyme  since  the  latter  half  of  the  ninth  century.  As 
has  been  said  above,  the  first  work  that  was  com- 
posed in  rhymes  was  Otfried's  "  Harmony  of  the  Gos- 
pels." In  the  alliterative  poetry  the  above-mentioned 
rhythm  has  not  always  been  strictly  observed,  and 
the  verses  are  often  too  long  or  too  short.  In  the 
early  rhymed  poems  the  rhyme  as  a  rule  is  not  per- 
fect ;  that  is,  when  the  vowels  correspond,  the  conso- 
nants are  different,  and  when  the  latter  are  alike, 
the  vowels  do  not  correspond.  These  impure  or 
imperfect  rhymes  are  commonly  called  "  assonance." 

From  the  tenth  century  to  the  middle  of  the  twelfth 
the  poetic  genius  of  the  German  people  seemed  to 
be  dormant.  Folk  songs  were  composed  by  differ- 
ent authors  who  were  not  without  talent,  but  noth- 
ing of  importance  was  done  to  develop  national 
poetry.  There  was  a  literature,  but  it  was  mainly 
written  in  Latin.  Yet  the  old  heroic  lays  of  Siegfried 
and  Kriemhild,  Hagen  and  Dietrich,  were  not  en- 
tirely forgotten ;  these  ancien,t  songs  lived  among  the 


INTRODUCTION.  XXV 

great  mass  of  the  people,  and  were  preserved  by  them 
despite  the  indifference  or  hostility  of  the  courts  and 
the  priesthood.  A  new  era  began  to  arise  when  the 
great  house  of  the  Hohenstaufen  ascended  the  throne 
of  Germany  and  the  Crusades  aroused  in  all  "Western 
Europe  a  mighty  flame  of  enthusiasm.  Then  com- 
menced the  glorious  period  of  Mediaeval  German 
poetry,  a  part  of  which  —  the  great  epics  —  will  form 
the  subject  of  the  following  pages. 


THE 

GREAT  EPICS  OF  MEDIEVAL  GERMANY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

OUTLINE  OF  THE  NIBELUNGEN  LIED.  —  PART  I. 

THE  Mbelungen  Lied  has  been  so  called  from  the 
last  line  of  the  poem,  "  Daz  ist  der  Nibelunge  Liet,"  or 
rather  from  the  common  modern  German  version  of 
it,  "Das  ist  das  Mbelungen  Lied."     In  its  present 
shape  it  was  composed  toward  the  end  of  the  twelfth  ^ 
century.     It  is  based  on  the  combination  and  blend- 
ing of  four  different _sources_:_l.  The  Prankish  saga-  */ ' 
cycle,  or  the  saga-cycle  of  the  Lower  Khine,  whose 
hero  is  Siegfried,  of  Santen   on   the   Lower  Ehine. 

2.  The   saga-cycle  of  Burgundy,  whose   heroes   are   t 
Gunther,  king  at  Worms,  and   his  brothers,  Gernot 
and  Giselher.     Their  mother  is  called  Ute  (meaning 
ancestress) ;  their  sister  is  Kriemhild ;  Gunther's  wife 

is  Brunhild ;  his  chief  vassals  are  Hagen  and  Volker. 

3.  The  Ostrogothic  saga-cycle,  whose  hero  is  Dietrich     2 
von  Bern ;  his  principal  vassal  and  weapon-master  is 
old  Hildebrand.     4.  The  saga-cycle  of  Etzel,  or  Attila,  </ 


2  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

king  of  the  Huns,  with  his  allies  and  vassals ;  among 
the  latter,  Riidiger  von  Bechlaren  is  the  most  distin- 
guished. Our  epic,  in  the  form  in  which  it  has  been 
transmitted  to  us,  is  divided  into  two  parts,  each  of 
them  containing  nineteen  songs,  called  aventiure  (ad- 
ventures). The  first  part  may  be  named  Kriemhild's 
Love ;  the  second,  Her  Eevenge. 

PART  I. 

I. -V.  —  The  first  stanza  of  the  first  song  bears 
witness  to  the  fact  that  our  poem  is  based  on  the 
contents  of  ancient  sagas. 

In  olden  song  and  story    high  marvels  we  are  told 
Of  heroes  of  great  glory,     in  toils  and  labors  bold ; 
Of  festal  glee  and  joyance,     of  woe  and  weeping  drear, 
Of  dauntless  heroes'  striving,     may  ye  now  wonders  hear. 

The  second  stanza  introduces  at  once  the  heroine 
of  the  great  epic,  and  at  the  same  time  foreshadows 
the  great  affliction  that  befell  many  valiant  heroes  on 
her  account. 

In  Burgundy  was  cherished    a  noble  maiden  fair y 
With  her  in  all  the  kingdoms     naught  fairer  could  compare. 
The  maid,  whose  name  was  Kriemhild,     became  a  beauteous  wife. 
For  whom  full  many  warriors    were  doomed  to  lose  their  life. 

Our  poem  takes  us  now  to  the  famous  city  of 
Worms  on  the  Ehine,  where  Kriemhild  grew  up  at 
the  royal  court  under  the  protection  of  her  mother, 
Queen  Ute,  and  of  her  three  brothers,  Gunther,  Ger- 
not,  and  young  Giselher.  Gunther,  being  the  eldest, 
had  ascended  the  throne  after  the  death  of  his  father, 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  3 

Dankrat.  Of  all  the  renowned  vassals,  the  pillars 
of  the  Burgundian  realm,  grim  Hagen  of  Tronje, 
kinsman  to  the  royal  brothers,  was  the  most  distin- 
guished ;  beside  him  his  friend  Volker  of  Alzey,  the 
"  Fiddler  good,"  as  he  was  surnamed,  and  Dankwart, 
Hagen's  brother,  must  be  mentioned. 

The  twelfth  stanza  of  the  first  song  may  be  called 
the  real  opening  of  the  poem,  as  what  precedes  is 
merely  an  introduction. 

Surrounded  by  great  honors,     there  dreamed  Queeu  Ute's  child 
How  she  brought  up  a  falcon,     strong,  beautiful,  and  wild. 
Him  quickly  clutched  two  eagles,  —     she  had  to  see  his  fate,  — 
And  here  on  earth  she  never    could  feel  a  woe  so  great. 

At  morn  she  told  her  mother,     Dame  Ute,  of  the  dream ; 
The  queen  explained  its  meaning,     as  it  to  her  did  seem : 
"  The  falcon  thou  caressest,     a  noble  man  is  he  ; 
May  God  shield  him  from  danger,     or  soon  his  end  will  be." 

"  Why  speak  to  me  of  husband,     beloved  mother  mine  ? 
The  love  of  wooing  heroes     I  ever  will  decline ; 
I  will  remain  so  beauteous     until  my  death  draws  near, 
Lest  love  of  man  should  ever     bring  on  me  sorrow  drear." 

"  Forswear  it  not  so  wholly,"     her  mother  then  replied. 
"  If  e'er  thy  heart  shall  fully     by  joy  be  gratified, 
It  will  come  from  man's  wooing ;     thou  'It  be  a  peerless  wife, 
If  God  will  ever  grant  thee    to  charm  a  hero's  life." 

"  Speak  so  to  me  no  longer,"     said  Kriemhild  to  the  queen. 
"  With  many  beauteous  women    it  often  has  been  seen 
How  love  draws  always  sorrow     behind  it  in  its  train. 
1  '11  shun  them  both  with  prudence    to  shield  my  heart  from 
pain." 

Thus, 'as  on  a  fair  summer  day  in  a  verdant  plain 
a  dim  vapor  appears  to  be  rising  at  the  far  distant 


4  THE   GREAT  EPICS  OF 

horizon,  and,  gradually  approaching,  "becomes  a  threat- 
ening thunder-cloud,  carrying  destruction  to  the 
smiling  landscape,  so  arose  in  the  heart  of  the  fair 
and  innocent  maiden  a  dim  foreboding  of  the  coming 
storm.  As  Vilmar  says,  "  The  shadows  of  this  dream 
move  henceforth  athwart  the  serene  heaven  of  her 
life  and  love;  darker  and  ever  darker  they  hover 
over  the  spring  days  of  her  first  and  only  love,  darker 
and  ever  darker  over  the  gay  sports  and  magnificent 
feasts  at  the  time  of  her  marriage ;  with  a  pale  glim- 
mer the  sun  shines  through  the  gloomy  semi-darkness, 
until  glowing  red  he  approaches  his  decline,  and  at 
last  with  bloody,  glaring  splendor  sinks  into  eternal 
night." 

The  second  song  of  our  poem  takes  us  to  the 
stronghold  of  Santen,  on  the  Lower  Ehine  in  Nether- 
•'""  land,  where  Siegfried,  the  son  of  King  Siegmund,  had 
grown  up  to  manhood.  At  a  great  festival  held  in 
honor  of  young  Siegfried,  and  after  the  celebration  of 
a  solemn  mass  in  the  minster,  the  young  prince  and 
four  hundred  young  noblemen  were  dubbed  knights, 
whereupon  a  great  tournament  followed.  Siegfried, 
having  heard  of  Kriemhild's  peerless  beauty,  deter- 
mined to  woo  her,  and  made  ready  for  his  journey 
to  Worms,  although  his  father,  Siegmund,  and  his 
mother,  Siegelind,  had  endeavored  to  dissuade  him 
from  such  a  dangerous  enterprise.  Yet  he  chose 
twelve  trusty  knights  to  accompany  him,  and  after  a 
journey  of  six  days  they  arrived,  in  glittering  armor 
and  on  richly  caparisoned  steeds,  at  the  royal  castle 
at  Worms. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  5 

As  neither  Gunther  nor  any  of  his  vassals  about 
him  knew  the  warriors,  Hagen  was  summoned. 

To  him  were  known  the  kingdoms    of  every  foreign  land, 
And  he  shall  now  inform  us    if  he  does  know  this  band. 

Hagen  gazed  from  the  window  on  the  strangers,  and 
declared  that  he  did  not  know  them. 

Sir  Hagen  then  continued :     "As  well  as  I  may  ween, 
Although  the  valiant  Siegfried    I  never  yet  have  seen, 
I  shall  believe  most  truly,     however  it  may  be, 
That  yonder  lordly  hero    none  other  is  than  he." 

Hagen  began  to  relate  some  events  of  Siegfried's 
life,  which  show  that  the  primitive  account  of  the 
acquisition  of  the  Nibelung  hoard*  was  still  dimly 
remembered  in  our  poem.  He  said  that  Siegfried 
had  once  happened  to  enter  all  alone  the  land  of  the 
Mbelungs  after  the  old  King  Nibelung  had  died. 
As  he*  rode  by  a  mountain,  he  met  the  sons  of  the 
king,  Schilbung  and  Nibelung,  surrounded  by  many 
valiant  heroes.  The  hoard  of  the  Nibelungs  had  been 
brought  forth  from  the  bowels  of  the  mountain;  and  as 
soon  as  the  princes  espied  Siegfried,  they  urged  him 
to  make  a  division  of  the  immense  treasure  of  gold 
and  precious  stones.  Siegfried  at  last  reluctantly 
complied  with  their  request,  and  they  offered  him  as 
reward  the  mighty  sword,  Balmung,  that  had  belonged 
to7 old  King  Nibelung.  Yet,  as  Siegfried  could  not 
succeed  in  satisfying  the  princes,  twelve  giants,  who 
were  in  their  service,  rushed  upon  him,  whereupon 
he  slew  them  and  the  royal  youths  with  the  sword 

*  Cf.  p.  60. 


6  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

Balmung,  and  overcame  seven  hundred  knights,  their 
vassals.  Then  the  powerful  dwarf,  Alberich,  in  order 
to  revenge  the  death  of  his  masters,  turned  furiously 
upon  him;  but  Siegfried  overpowered  him  and  thus 
became  the  possessor  of  the  hoard,  among  which  were 
Alberich's  famous  Tarrikappe,  or  magic  cap  of  dark- 
ness, rendering  its  wearer  invisible,  and  the  celebrated 
wishing-rod.*  The  treasure  was  brought  back  to  its 
former  place,  and  Alberich  was  made  keeper  of  it, 
after  he  had  sworn  allegiance  to  Siegfried. 

Furthermore  Hagen  related  how  Siegfried  had  slain 
a  monstrous  dragon,  f  and  had  bathed  in  his  blood 
so  that  no  weapon  could  do  him  any  harm. 

At  Hagen's  advice,  Siegfried  was  cordially  received 
by  Gunther  and  his  knights.  But  as  he  presumptu- 
ously challenged  the  king  to  a  combat,  and  declared 
that  the  victor  should  possess  the  land  and  people 
of  the  vanquished,  there  arose  a  great  uproar  among 
Gunther's  vassals.  Yet  the  king  and  Gernot  assuaged 
their  wrath,  and  Giselher  told  Siegfried  that  as  long  as 
he  chose  to  ask  for  anything  in  a  becoming  manner, 
all  that  they  had  should  be  his.  Siegfried  became  of 
a  gentler  mood,  and  was  royally  entertained  at  a  great 
banquet.  Festal  games  and  tournaments  were  held 
in  his  honor,  and  he  distinguished  himself  above  all 
others  in  every  kind  of  chivalry,  whether  in  hurling 
stones  or  pasting  the  spear.  Thus  he  passed  an  en- 
tire year  at  Worms  without  having  seen  Kriernhild, 

*  The  latter  is  mentioned  only  in  the  nineteenth  adventure. 
t  Cf.  p.  19. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  7 

who,  gazing  stealthily  at  him  from  the  castle  window, 
had  often  admired  his  great  beauty  and  unconquer- 
able strength. 

The  fourth  adventure  contains  the  episode  of  the 
Saxon  war,  in  which  Siegfried  with  his  own  twelve 
companions  and  one  thousand  chosen  Burgundians 
defeated  the  Saxons  and  their  allies,  the  Danes.  A 
great  festival  was  held  at  Worms  to  celebrate  the  vic- 
tory, and  it  was,  then  that  Siegfried  for  the  first  time 
saw  Kriemhild,  as  she  appeared  at  her  mother's  side, 
accompanied  by  an  hundred  knights,  sword  in  hand, 
and  by  many  noble  ladies  of  the  court,  richly  attired. 
Our  poet  describes  her  entry  into  the  festal  hall  in  the 
following  words :  — 

There  came  tlie  lovely  maiden    as  comes  the  morning  red, 
Through  troubled  clouds  appearing.     Full  many  a  sorrow  fled 
From  him  who  long  had  loved  her,    his  soul's  and  heart's  desire : 
He  saw  the  lovely  maiden    in  beauty's  full  attire. 

Upon  her  garment  sparkled     of  gems  full  many  a  row ; 
The  light  of  love  shone  from  her     with  rosy-colored  glow! 
Whatever  one  might  wish  for,     he  yet  was  forced  to  own 
That  here  on  earth  naught  fairer    could  evermore  be  shown. 

Even  as  the  radiant  full  moon     outshines  the  starry  light, 
When  from  the  clouds  she  rises     in  splendor  clear  and  bright, 
So  she  excelled  in  beauty     full  many  a  maid  and  dame : 
This  well  might  raise  the  courage     of  heroes  of  great  fame. 

Siegfried's  heart  was  filled  with  joy  as  he  drew 
near  the  princess,  who  blushed  deeply,  and  said 
with  graceful  loveliness, — 

"  Be  welcome  here,  Sir  Siegfried,    most  good  and  noble  knight." 
His  soul  swelled  from  her  greeting    with  courage  and  delight. 


8  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

With  many  loving  glances    they  spied  each  other  there, 
The  hero  and  the  maiden,     with  stealthy,  blushing  air. 

Kriemhild  went  to  the  minster,  and  after  the  mass 
had  been  held,  she  thanked  Siegfried  for  his  valorous 
aid  in  the  Saxon  war.  From  this  time  forth  their 
mutual  love  grew  daily,  and  the  other  knights  often 
envied  Siegfried's  happiness. 

VI. -IX. — The  sixth  adventure  relates  how  Gun- 
ther  went  to  Isenland  to  woo  Brunhild. 

There  was  a  royal  maiden    who  ruled  far  o'er  the  sea; 
With  her  none  could  be  likened    in  fame  and  high  degree. 
Fair  was  she  beyond  measure  ;     all  puissant  was  her  might : 
She  cast  the  spear  with  prowess    with  many  a  wooing  knight ; 

,81)6  hurled  the  stone  a  distance,   and  after  it  would  she  bound. 
Each  knight  who  thought  of  wooing      the  warrior-maid  re- 
nowned, 

In  three  games  had  to  vanquish     the  noble  queen  so  dread  ; 
Whoe'er  in  one  was  conquered,     was  doomed  to  lose  his  head. 

One  day  Gunther,  while  sitting  in  the  council  hall, 
was  urged  by  his  friends  to  select  a  consort  worthy  of 
himself  and  of  the  glory  of  the  country. 

Then  spoke  the  Lord  of  Rhineland  :     "  I  '11  sail  across  the  sea 
To  woo  the  mighty  Brunhild,     whate'er  the  end  may  be. 
To  gain  her  love  and  favor,     I  '11  boldly  risk  my  life ; 
I  '11  be  content  to  lose  it,     or  win  her  as  my  wife." 

As  Siegfried  heard  of  this,  he  endeavored  to  dis- 
suade Gunther  from  such  a  dangerous  plan  by  tell- 
ing him  of  the  martial  prowess  and  unconquerable 
strength  of  Brunhild.  Yet  the  king  was  determined 
that  none  other  than  Brunhild  should  be  queen  at 


MEDIEVAL    GERMANY.  9 

Worms ;  and  Hagen,  seeing  that  Siegfried  was  well 
informed  about  the  warlike  maiden,  suggested  that 
the  hero  from  Netherland  should  accompany  Gun- 
ther  to  Isenland. 

"  Wilt  aid  me,  noble  Siegfried,"     the  king  said  to  his  guest, 
"  To  woo  the  charming  maiden    and  do  what  I  request, 
And  if  the  lovely  lady    shall  then  become  my  wife, 
I  '11  venture,  to  reward  thee,     mine  honor  and  my  life." 

To  him  Sir  Siegfried  answered :    "  Whatever  may  betide, 
If  you  give  me  your  sister    to  be  my  lovely  bride, 
The  fair  and  charming  Kriemhild,    I  '11  aid  you  as  I  may, 
And  for  my  toil  and  labor    I'll  claim  no  other  pay." 

"That  vouch  I,"  said  King  Gunther,    "and  pledge  thereto  my 

hand. 

Whenever  beauteous  Brunhild    comes  hither  to  this  land, 
I  shall  bestow  my  sister    on  you  to  be  your  wife, 
That  you  may  with  the  fair  one    enjoy  a  happy  life." 

This  they  pledged  to  one  another  by  a  solemn  oath, 
not  surmising  what  endless  misery  would  follow  from 
this  enterprise.  Yet  when  the  time  came  for  leave- 
taking,  Kriemhild  told,  her  brother  that  it  would  be 
far  better  for  him  to  stay  at  Worms  and  marry  one  of 
the  fair  women  of  the  land,  than  ris"k  his  life  in  such 
an  adventure. 

I  ween  her  heart  foretold  her    the  coming  dire  dismay. 
All  eyes  were  full  of  weeping,     whatever  one  might  say. 

She  commended  her  brother  to  Siegfried's  protec- 
tion, and  Gunther  and  Siegfried  departed,  accom- 
panied only  by  Hagen  and  his  brother  Dankwart. 
They  sailed  down  the  Ehine  in  a  bark,  and  on  the 
twelfth  morning  came  within  sight  of  Isenstein,  the 


10  THE   GREAT  EPICS  OF 

great  fortress  in  Brunhild's  land.  Gunther  was  as- 
tounded at  the  warlike  and  noble  aspect  of  the  far- 
stretching  coast.  Before  they  landed,  Siegfried  said 
to  Gunther,  "  Let  roe  advise  you  to  tell  the  queen 
that  you  are  my  liege  lord  and  I  am  your  vassal,  and 
then  all  will  be  well."  Afterwards  they  rode  up  to 
the  fortress,  which  contained  eighty -six  gloomily 
frowning  turrets,  three  wide-stretching  palaces,  and 
a  spacious  hall,  composed  of  marble  blocks  as  green 
as  grass.  When  the  queen,  gorgeously  attired,  sur- 
rounded by  an  hundred  maidens,  and  followed  by  five 
hundred  knights,  sword  in  hand,  saw  the  approaching 
heroes,  she  at  once  recognized  Siegfried,  and  saluted 
him  first,  and  in  presence  of  the  king.  Siegfried  de- 
clined the  honor  the  queen  had  bestowed  on  him,  and 
said,  "  My  liege  lord,  King  Gunther,  has  come  to  woo 
you."  Brunhild,  astonished  and  angry,  replied,  "  If  he 
be  your  master  and  you  his  liegeman,  and  he  will  try 
his  strength  in  the  games  which  I  shall  impose  on  him, 
I  will  become  his  wife  if  he  shall  conquer.  But  if  I 
win  in  one  of  them,  the  lives  of  you  all  shall  be  lost." 
Brunhild  ordered  the  games  to  take  place  without 
any  further  delay.  While  she  put  on  her  coat  of 
mail,  seven  hundred  armed  men  formed  a  circle  about 
the  space  measured  out  for  the  combat. 

And  then  appeared  her  liegemen,     who  carried  to  the  field, 
Adorned  with  gold  and  jewels,     a  brightly  glittering  shield ; 

It  was  beset  most  richly    with  gold  as  well  as  steel. 

Four  chamberlains  who  bore  it     beneath  its  weight  did  reel. 

Unto  the  dame  was  carried    a  mighty  spear  for  fight, — 
It  was  her  wont  to  hurl  it    afar  with  all  her  might, — 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  11 

A  spear  both  sharp  and  cumbrous,    weighty  and  strongly  made, 
On  either  side  provided    with  keen,  terrific  blade. 

And  three  of  Brunhild's  liegemen    could  hardly  bear  its  weight ; 
Therefore  the  noble  Gunther    was  filled  with  sorrow  great. 

That  Brunhild's  strength  was  fearful,     was  then  most  fully 

known. 

They  brought  within  the  circle     a  heavy  marble  stone, 
Unwieldy  and  unshapely,     and  huge  and  broad  and  strong : 
Twelve  valiant  heroes  hardly     could  bear  its  mass  along. 

In  the  meantime  Siegfried  had  secretly  put  on  his 
Tarnkappe,  or  cap  of  darkness,*  and  said  to  Gunther, 
"  Give  me  the  shield.  I  shall  wield  it  in  the  combat. 
Make  the  gestures  and  I  will  do  the  work." 

The  queen  had  bared  her  arms,  and,  with  the  shield 
in  her  hand,  poised  the  spear  high  in  the  air  and 
hurled  it  with  great  vehemence.  It  struck  Gunther's 
shield  with  such  force  that  sparks  flew  from  its  steel 
rings,  arid  both  he  and  Siegfried  staggered  from  the 
blow,  although  of  course  the  latter's  movements  were 
invisible  to  all.  Siegfried  wrenched  Brunhild's  spear 
from  Gunther's  shield,  which  it  had  penetrated,  and 
cast  the  shaft  with  such  superior  strength  at  Brunhild's 
coat  of  mail  that  the  queen  was  wellnigh  vanquished. 
Yet  quickly  she  arose,  swung  the  huge  stone,  and 
hurled  it  the  length  of  twelve  fathoms,  bounding 
after  it  with  clashing  armor.  Gunther  placed  his 
hands  upon  the  stone  and  seemed  to  throw  it,  while 
it  was  really  Siegfried  who  cast  it  farther  than  Brun- 
hild had  done,  and,  taking  Gunther  with  him,  leaped 
far  beyond  the  place  where  the  stone  had  fallen. 

*  See  p.  102. 


12  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

Thereupon  Brunhild,  believing  to  have  been  van- 
quished by  Gunther,  announced  to  her  people  that 
henceforth  they  would  be  the  king's  liegemen.  Sieg- 
fried went  back  to  the  beach  where  the  bark  was 
moored,  put  away  his  Tarrikappe,  and  then  returned 
to  the  castle,  where  he  pretended  to  believe  that  the 
games  had  not  yet  taken  place. 

As  Brunhild  was  unwilling  to  follow  Gunther  at 
once  to  Worms,  and  an  alarming  number  of  her  vas- 
sals appeared  armed  at  Isenstein,  Siegfried  promised 
to  depart  speedily  and  to  return  with  one  thousand 
chosen  knights. 

Siegfried  went  down  to  the  beach,  and,  putting  on 
his  Tarnkappe,  sailed  in  the  bark  to  the  Nibelung 
land.  He  came  to  a  fortress  on  a  mountain  and 
knocked  at  the  gate,  which  was  heavily  bolted.  A 
giant,  who  guarded  it  from  within,  cried  out,  "  Who 
knocks  so  violently  at  the  gate  ? "  Siegfried  disguised 
his  voice  and  demanded  admission  in  threatening 
words,  whereupon  the  giant  flung  open  the  gate  and 
wrathfully  attacked  him.  Siegfried  was  pleased  with 
the  fierce  resistance  of  the  trusty  keeper,  and  after  a 
furious  struggle  overcame  and  bound  him.  There- 
upon Alberich,  the  dwarf,  appeared,  well  armed,  and 
with  a  seven-thonged  whip  in  his  hand,  each  thong  of 
the  whip  having  a  heavy  golden  knob.  He  rushed 
upon  Siegfried  with  great  fury,  but  the  latter  seized 
him  by  his  gray  beard  and  Alberich  was  forced  to 
beg  for  mercy.  Shortly  afterward  Siegfried  revealed 
his  name,  and  Alberich,  rejoiced  at  this  announce- 
ment, declared  himself  ready  to  obey  his  command. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  13 

At  once  a  thousand  warriors,  the  bravest  of  the  Nibe- 
lung  host,  were  prepared  to  follow  Siegfried  to  Brun- 
hild's realm.  When  they  arrived  there,  the  queen  no 
longer  hesitated  to  depart  to  Worms. 

X.  —  XIII.  —  Brunhild  was  cordially  received  at 
Worms  by  Queen  Ute  and  Kriemhild.  At  the  wed- 
ding-feast Siegfried  reminded  Gunther  of  his  promise. 

There  spoke  the  royal  Gunther :     "  Grant  me  a  favor  now, 
My  most  beloved  sister ;     aid  me  to  keep  my  vow. 
I  've  pledged  thee  to  a  hero ;     if  thou  'It  espouse  the  knight, 
Thou  truly  wilt  accomplish    my  wishes  and  delight." 

There  said  the  noble  maiden :    "O  dearest  brother  mine, 
Thou  needest  not  implore  me.     To  every  wish  of  thine, 
Whatever  thou  commandest,     I  always  will  agree  ; 
The  knight  whom  thou  hast  chosen,    my  husband  shall  he  be." 

Siegfried  offered  his  hand  to  Kriemhild,  and  in  the 
midst  of  the  noble  assembly  imprinted  ardent  kisses 
on  his  bride.  The  double  marriage  of  Gunther  and 
Brunhild  and  Siegfried  and  Kriemhild  was  celebrated 
with  great  pomp,  yet  in  spite  of  the  festivities  a 
threatening  thunder-cloud  seemed  to  darken  the  royal 
haU. 

The  king  sat  at  the  banquet    beside  Brunhild  his  queen. 
When  she  beheld  fair  Kriemhild,     she  felt  a  pang  most  keen, 
As  Kriemhild  sat  near  Siegfried ;     the  queen  began  to  weep, 
And  many  a  burning  tear-drop    o'er  her  fair  cheek  did  creep. 

There  spoke  the  country's  ruler :    "  My  wife,  what  means  this 

sight  ? 

What  is  it  ?     Why  are  clouded    your  eyes  of  dazzling  bright  ? 
Far  better  were  rejoicing;    for  under  thy  command 
Are  many  valiant  heroes,     my  castles  and  my  land." 


14  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

Brunhild  replied,  "  I  am  sorely  grieved  at  seeing 
your  sister  take  her  seat  at  the  side  of  your  liegeman." 
The  king  tried  to  avoid  any  explanation,  and  simply 
said,  "  Siegfried  is  himself  a  king's  son,  and  has  as 
many  castles  and  lands  as  I."  Brunhild  was  not  sat- 
isfied, and  continued  sad  and  sullen  throughout  the 
evening. 

It  is  true  that  Siegfried  played  the  part  of  Gun- 
ther's  vassal  at  their  arrival  in  Isenstein,  yet  Brunhild 
had  other  causes  to  be  vexed  at  the  betrothal  of  Sieg- 
fried and  Kriemhild  than  those  she  mentioned,  — 
causes  which  are  hardly  alluded  to  in  our  poem,  but 
appear  from  the  Northern  version  of  our  saga. 

When  the  wedding-feast  was  ended  and  Gunther 
and  Brunhild  had  withdrawn  to  the  bridal  chamber, 
the  queen  again  asked  questions  in  regard  to  Sieg- 
fried. As  the  king  did  not  reply,  she  seized  him  and 
bound  his  hands  and  feet  with  her  magic  girdle  and 
hung  him  to  a  huge  nail  on  the  wall. 

On  the  following  day  Gunther  informed  Siegfried 
of  the  treatment  which  he  had  suffered  from  the 
hands  of  the  queen,  whereupon  Siegfried  promised  to 
aid  the  king.  That  night  Siegfried,  concealed  from 
view  in  his  Tarnkappe,  went  to  Brunhild's  chamber 
with  GuntHerTaTrd  after  a  fierce  struggle  wrested  both 
girdle  and  ring  from  the  dread  queen,  thus  conquer- 
ing her,  while  she  supposed  it  was  Gunther  who  had 
vanquished  her.  Henceforth  Brunhild  had  no  greater 
strength  than  any  other  woman. 

While  Siegfried^ was  engaged  in  the  combat  with 
Brunhild,  his  absence  was  noticed  by  his  wife,  and 


MEDLEY  AL    GERMANY.  15 

after  he  returned,  she  questioned  him  about  the  cause. 
Siegfried  at  first  evaded  an  explanation,  but  in  the 
end  yielded  to  the  eager  supplications  of  his  beloved 
Kriemhild,  and  also  gave  her  Brunhild's  ring  and  gir- 
dle, —  a  fatal  hour,  destined  to  be  the  cause  of  end- 
less sorrow,  not  only  to  her  and  Siegfried,  but  to  the 
whole  royal  house  and  to  many  noble  heroes. 

The  eleventh  adventure  relates  how  Siegfried  jour- 
neyed home  with  his  wife  and  was  crowned  king  after 
his  father's  abdication.  The  Nibelung  hoard  had  been 
given  by  Siegfried  to  Kriembilcl  as  a  bridal  poftfonr- 
Tbe  young  king-attdrTpre'eri  passecTmany  years  in 
great  happiness  together. 

In  the  meantime  Brunhild  had  not  forgotten  Sieg- 
fried, and  pretended  to  wonder  why  Kriemhild  had 
been  bestowed  on  him,  as  he  was  a  vassal,  and  why, 
being  such,  he  did  not  render  homage  to  King  Gun- 
ther.  The  latter  dared  not  tell  her  the  truth,  but,  as 
she  feigned  to  have  a  great  desire  to  see  Kriemhild, 
he  complied  with  her  wish  to  invite  Siegfried  and 
his  wife  to  a  great  festival  at  Worms. 

The  king  sent  messengers  to  Siegfried  and  Kriem- 
hild, whom  they  found  in  Norway  at  the  Nibelung 
fortress.  The  royal  couple  departed  with  one  thou- 
sand Nibelung  knights,  who  were  afterwards  joined 
by  old  King  Siegmund  and  an  hundred  knights  of 
Netherland,  and  arrived  at  Worms,  where  they  were 
cordially  received  by  Gunther  and  his  queen. 

In  honor  of  the  noble  guests,  great  festivities  took 
place  in  the  royal  city,  tournaments  were  held,  and 
the  castle  walls  resounded  with  the  peal  of  trumpets. 


16  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

All  was  peace  and  joy  until  the  evening  of  the  elev- 
enth day.  Then  Brunhild  could  bear  no  longer  that 
Siegfried,  supposed  to  be  Gunther's  vassal,  had  never 
paid  tribute,  and  she  was  determined  to  know  why. 
The  spirit  of  evil  took  possession  of  her,  and  the 
voice  of  envious  hate  was  heard  among  the  festal 
sounds  of  joy. 

XIV.  -  XIX.  —  One  evening,  as  a  tournament  took 
place  in  the  castle  yard,  the  two  queens  gazed  from 
the  palace  windows  on  the  noble  chivalry  below, 
among  whom  were  Gunther  and  Siegfried. 

Together  there  were  seated     the  queens  so  rich  and  fair ; 
They  spoke  of  two  great  heroes     who  were  beyond  compare. 
There  said  the  beauteous  Kriemhild,     "My spouse  is  such  a 

knight 
That  all  these  lands  and  kingdoms     ought  to  obey  his  might." 

To  her  Queen  Brunhild  answered :    "  How  could  that  ever  be  ? 
If  no  one  else  were  living     but  thou  alone  and  he, 
Then  all  these  lands  and  kingdoms    might  be  his  own,  I  ween ; 
As  long  as  lives  King  Gunther,     that  never  shall  be  seen." 

Kriemhild  did  not  perceive  that  Brunhild's  wrath 
began  to  be  aroused,  and  did  not  heed  the  words  of 
her  sister-in-law. 

To  her  replied  fair  Kriemhild,     "  Behold,  how  he  stands  there, 
How  lordly  he  surpasses     all  heroes  everywhere." 

Then  Brunhild  spoke :    "  Thy  consort,    however  brave  indeed, 
How  beautiful  and  valiant,  —    him  always  must  precede 
The  dauntless  hero  Gunther,     the  noble  brother  thine ; 
Before  all  kings  most  truly     his  lustrous  crown  must  shine." 

The  quarrel  waxed  hotter,  and  Brunhild  called  Sieg- 
fried her  husband's  vassal. 


MEDIEVAL    GERMANY.  17 

There  spoke  again  fair  Kriemhild :    "  Thou  shalt  well  under- 
stand, 

As  thou  hast  called  my  Siegfried    a  liegeman  of  this  land, 
This  day  by  all  their  vassals    it  shall  be  plainly  seen 
That  I  '11  go  to  the  minster    preceding  Gunther's  queen." 

Brunhild  retorted  angry  words,  and  then  the  queens 
parted.  At  the  door  of  the  minster  the  people  were 
greatly  astonished  when  they  saw  the  two  royal  trains 
arriving  separately,  instead  of  coming  together  as 
they  had  done  before.  Brunhild's  fury  reached  a  still 
higher  pitch,  as  the  attire  of  Kriemhild's  maidens  and 
knights  outshone  in  splendor  the  appearance  of  her 
own  retinue,  however  gorgeously  arrayed. 

There  came  the  queens  together  before  the  minster  gate. 
The  wife  of  royal  Gunther,  from  fierce  and  envious  hate, 
Bade  fair  and  noble  Kriemhild  "  stand  still,"  in  words  of 

strife  : 
"  Before  the  queen  shall  never     proceed  the  vassal's  wife." 

In  the  quarrel  ensuing  upon  this,  Kriemhild,  who 
in  the  heat  of  her  passion  wrongly  interpreted  the 
events  of  the  bridal  night,  asserted  that  Brunhild  had 
been  Siegfried's  paramour,  and  proudly  entered  the 
minster.  Brunhild  remained  without  the  minster 
doors  during  the  service,  and,  as  Kriemhild  came  out, 
she  demanded  proofs  of  the  accusation,  whereupon 
Kriemhild  showed  her  the  ring  and  the  girdle.  Gun- 
ther was  sent  for,  and,  after  he  had  heard  what  had 
happened,  summoned  Siegfried.  The  latter  solemnly 
and  truly  declared  that  he  never  told  Kriemhild  what 
she  had  said  of  his  relation  to  Brunhild.  Both  Gun- 
ther and  Siegfried  then  endeavored  to  compose  the 


18  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

strife,  yet  Brunhild  was  filled  with  sadness,  and  Ha- 
gen,  after  hearing  of  the  insult  which  the  queen  had 
suffered,  made  a  vow  that  Siegfried  should  have  to 
atone  for  Brunhild's  sorrow.  Thus  the  sullen  thunder- 
clouds that  had  seemed  to  overshadow  the  festal  hall 
during  the  royal  weddings  appeared  to  grow  more  and 
more  threatening,  and  to  forebode  the  final  overthrow 
of  a  great  and  noble  house. 

Giselher  nobly  took  the  cause  of  Siegfried  against 
Hagen,  and  Gunther  was  greatly  troubled  by  his  pow- 
erful vassal's  design,  as  he  thought  of  Siegfried's  for- 
mer devotion  to  him.  He  tried  for  some  time  to 
change  the  opinion  of  those  who  advised  Siegfried's 
death,  yet  his  weak  nature  made  him  listen  to  the 
words  of  grim  Hagen,  whose  wily  tongue  depicted  to 
Gunther  the  danger  which  he  might  incur  while  so 
great  a  king  as  Siegfried  lived,  who  outshone  the 
power  and  glory  of  the  Burgundian  monarch.  Since 
the  hero  could  not  be  slain  in  open  and  fair  combat, 
Hagen  had  to  take  refuge  in  a  vile  stratagem,  and 
nothing  was  left  for  the  traitor  but  to  murder  him. 
If  Hagen's  chief  motive  for  advising,  planning,  and 
accomplishing  the  dark  deed  had  sprung  only  from 
the  fidelity  which  a  liegeman  owed  to  his  sovereign 
lord,  or  from  the  unselfish  desire  to  avenge  the  wrong 
done  to  the  latter's  wife,  he  could  not  have  appeared 
blamable  in  the  light  of  the  feudal  code  of  honor,  at 
least  not  so  far  as  his  aim  was  concerned,  although 

7  o 

the  means  to  reach  it  was  contrary  to  the  higher 
ideas  of  chivalry  in  its  better  days.  While  it  cannot 
be  denied  that  Hagen  was  distinguished  by  great 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  19 

fidelity  to  the  king's  family,  yet  the  incentives  to 
Siegfried's  murder  were,  besides  his  devotion  to  the 
royal  house,  his  envy  and  jealous  hate  of  a  hero  whose 
inferior  he  felt  himself  to  be  in  every  respect.  In 
the  second  part  of  our  poem  Hagen  appears  in  a  yet 
more  terrible,  but  also  much  nobler  light. 

Kriemhild,  struck  with  fatal  blindness,  believed 
Hagen  to  be  a  sincere  friend  of  Siegfried,  and  she 
confided  to  the  traitor  a  secret,  referring  to  Sieg- 
fried's former  slaying  of  a  dragon  by  the  side  of  a 
mountain. 

"  When  from  the  wounded  dragon    the  boiling  blood  streamed 

down, 

Within  the  gore  bathed  Siegfried,    the  knight  of  great  renown. 
There  fell  between  his  shoulders     a  broad-shaped  linden  leaf, 
And  there  he  can  be  wounded  :    this  gives  me  heartfelt  grief." 

Hagen,  overjoyed  at  this  information,  advised 
Kriemhild  to  sew  upon  his  garment  some  mark  by 
which  he  might  know  the  spot,  so  that  he  could,  as 
he  said,  better  shield  Siegfried  in  case  of  danger. 
The  unfortunate  woman  promised  to  embroider  a 
little  silken  cross  over  the  place  where  the  leaf  had 
fallen. 

Gunther  ordered  a  great  hunting  to  take  place  in 
the  Odenwald,  and  Siegfried  declared  himself  ready  to 
accompany  the  king.  Kriemhild  had  been  oppressed 
with  evil  forebodings,  and  deeply  regretted  that  she 
had  revealed  Siegfried's  secret  to  Hagen,  yet  she 
durst  not  tell  her  husband  of  it.  As  Siegfried  came 
to  take  leave  of  her  before  going  to  the  hunt,  she 
tried  to  retain  him. 


20  THE    GREAT    EPICS    OF 

She  said  unto  the  hero,     "  Give  up  the  chase  to-day. 

I  dreamed  last  night  of  sorrow,     how  o'er  the  heath  away 

Two  fierce  wild  boars  pursued  thee ;  —  all  flowers  were  turned 

to  red ; 
And  therefore  I,  poor  woman,   do  grieve  with  tears  and  dread." 

Siegfried  endeavored  to  calm  her,  but  she  con- 
tinued, — 

"  Oh  no  !  beloved  Siegfried  !    I  fear  thine  overthrow. 
I  dreamed  last  night  of  sorrow,     how  in  a  dale  below 
There  fell  o'er  thee  two  mountains,    that  I  saw  thee  no  more. 
Oh,  do  not  leave  me,  Siegfried  !     My  heart  is  deeply  sore." 

Siegfried  tenderly  embraced  his  beloved  wife,  tried 
to  calm  her,  and  at  last  bade  her  farewell.  The  chase 
began  amidst  a  joyous  tumult  and  the  sounds  of  the 
bugle,  so  that  hills  and  dales  gave  back  the  loud 
echoes.  After  a  successful  hunt  and  a  merry  chase 
of  a  bear,  Siegfried  sat  down  with  Gunther,  Hagen, 
and  the  other  hunters  to  enjoy  the  meal  that  had  been 
prepared  for  them.  As  he  called  for  wine,  Hagen  told 
him  that  the  hampers  of  wine  had  been  sent  by  mis- 
take to  the  Spessart  forest,  but  that  he  knew  of  a 
spring  of  cool  and  clear  water.  As  soon  as  Siegfried 
wished  to  be  directed  to  the  spring,  Hagen,  in  an  ap- 
parently careless  manner,  said  to  Siegfried,  "  I  have 
been  told  that  no  one  can  surpass  Kriemhild's  lord  in 
running."  Siegfried  replied  to  Hagen,  "  Let  us  run 
a  race  to  the  spring,  King  Gunther,  you,  and  myself." 
Gunther  and  Hagen  divested  themselves  of  their 
armor  and  heavy  garments,  and  ran  like  two  fierce 
panthers,  while  Siegfried,  laden  with  his  weapons, 
arrived  first  at  the  spring.  Gunther  stooped  and 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  21 

drank,  and  when  he  had  arisen,  Siegfried  did  likewise. 
Then  Hagen  stealthily  put  away  Siegfried's  sword  and 
bow  beyond  his  reach,  took  the  hero's  spear  that 
leaned  against  the  linden-tree  and  thrust  it  through 
the  cross  which  Kriemhild  had  embroidered  on  her 
husband's  garment.  Siegfried  took  his  shield,  and, 
with  the  deadly  spear  between  his  shoulders,  overtook 
the  traitor,  who  had  fled  in  craven  flight,  and  smote 
him  with  his  shield  until  it  was  broken  into  pieces. 
But  by  this  time  the  dying  hero's  strength  began  to 
fail  and  the  color  fled  his  cheeks. 

There  fell  among  the  flowers    fair  Kriemhild' s  spouse,  undone, 
And  from  the  wounded  hero    in  streams  the  blood  did  run. 

All  bewailed  the  death  of  Siegfried;  but  Hagen 
alone  was  implacable,  without  mercy  and  without 
regret. 

There  spoke  to  them  grim  Hagen :     "  What  is  it  you  deplore  ? 
Our  fears  and  all  our  sorrows    are  stilled  forevermore ; 
But  few  will  now  be  able    to  stand  against  our  might. 
That  I  have  dealt  this  death-blow,     I  glory  and  delight." 

"  You  have  no  cause  for  boasting,"    Sir  Siegfried  did  exclaim ; 
"  If  I  had  e'er  suspected    your  vile  and  murderous  aim, 
I  should  have  well  protected    'gainst  such  as  you  my  life ; 
But  naught  grieves  me  so  greatly    as  Dame  Kriemhild,  my 

wife." 

He  writhed  in  bitter  anguish ;    with  pang  and  gasping  breath, 
His  bleeding  heart  lamented :    "  My  bloody,  murderous  death 
You  will  have  cause  to  grieve  for    in  time  to  come,  I  trow. 
You  may  believe  me  truly :    you  've  struck  your  own  death- 
blow." 

All  round  about  the  flowers    were  wet  with  Siegfried's  gore, 
And  after  a  short  struggle    the  hero  was  no  more. 


22  THE   GREAT  EPICS  OF 

When  night  had  come,  the  royal  hunting-party 
crossed  the  Ehine  and  entered  Worms.  Hagen,  to 
complete  his  villany,  caused  Siegfried's  corpse  to  be 
laid  before  Kriemhild's  door,  so  that  she  could  not 
fail  to  find  it  when  she  went  to  mass  early  on  the 
following  morning. 

And  there  she  dropped  and  fainted,  —  no  word  came  forth,  no 

.  sound ; 
The  fair  and  joyless  woman    lay  there  stretched  on  the  ground. 

When  her  swoon  had  passed,  her  maidens  strove  to 
console  her  by  saying  that  the  dead  man  might  per- 
haps be  some  stranger  knight. 

She  answered,  "No,  't  is  Siegfried,    my  husband  dear,  I  know ; 
And  Brunhild  has  designed  it    and  Hagen  dealt  the  blow." 

Eleven  hundred  knights,  one  thousand  Nibelungs 
and  one  hundred  from  Netherland,  were  ready  to 
wreak  dire  vengeance  on  the  murderer ;  but  Kriem- 
hild  commanded  them  to  desist  from  such  a  hazard- 
ous endeavor,  as  the  Burgundians  could  muster  at 
least  thirty  warriors  to  their  one.  As  Hagen  on  the 
following  morning  drew  near  the  corpse,  the  blood 
began  to  ooze  from  the  wounds,  and  it  became  evi- 
dent to  all  who  the  murderer  was. 

After  the  body  had  been  buried,  Kriemhild  took  up 
her  dwelling  near  the  minster  and  went  every  day  to 
Siegfried's  grave,  but  no  one  could  console  her  heart. 
During  three  years  and  a  half  she  did  not  speak  a 
word  to  her  brother  Gunther,  nor  cast  her  eyes  on 
blood-stained  Hagen.  Through  Geruot  and  Giselher 
a  reconciliation  with  Gunther  was  at  last  brought 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  23 

about,  and  soon  after  the  Mbelung  hoard,  Kriemhild's 
marriage-gift,  was,  with  her  consent,  carried  from 
Nibelung  land  to  Worms.  Kriemhild,  who  cared  more 
for  the  loss  of  Siegfried  than  for  all  the  gold  in  the 
world,  scattered  precious  gifts  among  rich  and  poor. 
When  Hagen  saw  what  great  power  she  could  wield 
by  her  generosity,  and  how  many  knights  were  willing 
to  become  her  vassals,  he  was  greatly  alarmed  and 
stealthily  had  the  hoard  sunk  in  the  Ehine,  where, 
according  to  popular  belief,  it  still  remains.  Kriem- 
hild's brothers  were  enraged  at  Hagen's  new  injury 
inflicted  upon  their  sister,  but  they  could  not  undo 
what  had  been  done. 

Thirteen  years  had  passed  since  Siegfried's  death, 
but  Kriemhild  bewailed  his  loss  as  vehemently  as 
ever.  She  was  about  to  withdraw  to  the  abbey  at 
Lorsch,  between  Worms  and  the  Odenwald,  which 
had  been  founded  by  Queen  TJte,  when  suddenly  new 
tidings  came  over  the  Khine  which  entirely  changed 
her  resolution. 


CHAPTER  II. 

^-^V^ 
OUTLINE  OF  THE  NIBELUNGEN  LIE    —  PART  II. 


XX.  -  XXII.  —  Far  away  in  t.Tip.  stp.yvpps  qf  Hun- 
gary dwelt  the  powerful  Etzel  (Attila),  king  of  the 
Huns,  whose  wife,  Helke.  renowned  in  saga-lore,  hap- 
pened to  die  at  that  time.  As  the  king  thought  of 
seeking  a  new  bride  for  himself,  his  friends  and  vas- 
sals advised  him  to  woo  Kriemhild,  Siegfried's  widow. 
Therefore  Margra^e_RudJCTer  of  Bechlaren,  one  of  his 
most  esteemed  liegemen,  was  despatched  with  a  suit- 
able retinue  to  Worms,  where  Gunther  and  all  the 
nobles  of  the  realm  were  in  favor  of  accepting  Etzel's 
proposal,  if  Kriemhild  would  consent.  Hagen  alone 
was  opposed  to  it,  but  Gunther  was  firm. 

To  him  gave  answer  Hagen  :     "  I  pray  you,  let  that  be  ! 
If  ye  would  know  King  Etzel    as  he  is  known  to  me,  — 
If  ye  will  let  him  woo  her,     as  I  have  heard  you  say, 
You  will  have  ample  reason    to  mourn  for  it  some  day." 

Giselher  recalled  to  Hagen  the  great  wrongs  which 
the  latter  had  already  heaped  on  Kriemhild,  and  told 
him  to  desist  from  further  attempts  to  displease  her. 

The  very  mention  of  a  new  marriage  appeared  to 
fan  the  faithful  widow's  grief  to  greater  flames.  She 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  25 

declared  that  she  would  never  listen  to  any  man's 
wooing,  and  for  a  long  time  persisted  in  refusing 
Etzel's  proposal,  even  after  Riidiger  had  described  to 
her  in  glowing  colors  the  splendor  of  the  realm  that 
awaited  her  and  the  great  number  of  powerful  vassals 
that  would  be  at  her  command.  At  last  the  brave 
knight  succeeded  in  his  endeavor. 

Unto  the  royal  lady    he  said :  "  Pray  cease  to  moan ; 

If  of  the  Hunnish  warriors    you  had  but  me  alone, 

My  faithful  friends  and  champions     and  all  my  vassals  strong, 

Most  grievously  would  suffer    he  who  had  done  you  wrong." 

At  these  words  the  gleaming  spark  of  revenge  in 
her  breast  was  kindled  to  a  lurid  flame.  She  asked 
Riidiger  to  promise  her  by  an  oath  to  aid  her  when- 
ever any  one  should  inflict  injury  upon  her.  Riidiger 
with  all  his  vassals  took  the  oath,  and  the  noble  mar- 
grave did  not  suspect  then  what  secret  thoughts  Sieg- 
fried's widow  fostered  in  the  depths  of  her  heart,  nor 
what  sore  distress  would  come  from  this  oath  to  him 
and  his  whole  house.  After  Riidiger's  solemn  prom- 
ise, and  when  he  had  quieted  her  scruples  in  regard  to 
Etzel's  being  a  pagan,  Kriemhild  accepted  the  pro- 
posal of  the  king  of  the  Huns.  She  departed  with  her 
followers  from  Worms  and  arrived  at  Passau,  where 
they  were  cordially  received  by  Bishop  Pilgrim,  Queen 
Ute's  brother.  On  the  following  morning  they  started 
for  Bechlaren,  where  they  enjoyed  the  hearty  hospi- 
tality of  Riidiger's  wife,  Dame  Gotelind.  At  length 
they  came  to  lulu  on  the  Danube,  in  Austria,  where 
.King  Etzel  himself,  with  a  royal  escort,  had  arrived  to 


26  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

meet  his  bride.  Among  Etzel's  host  one  powerful  hero 
was  distinguished  above  all;  this  was  Dietrich  von 
Bern  (Theodoric  of  Verona),  the  mighty  chief  of  the 
Amelungs.  Besides  him  there  were  Blodel,  Etzel's 
brother;  Irnfried  of  Thuringia;  the  Danes,  Ha  wart 
and  Iring ;  and  many  others. 

The  marriage  of  Etzel  and  Kriemhild  was  cele- 
brated in  Vienna  with  unheard-of  pomp  and  display, 
and  the  queen  was  much  surprised  at  seeing  so  many 
nations  under  Etzel's  power ;  yet  as  she 

Recalled  how  by  the  Rhine  banks    she  dwelt  in  bygone  years, 
There,  by  her  noble  consort,     her  eyes  would  fill  with  tears ; 
Yet  she  concealed  them  ever    that  they  were  seen  by  none, 
Since  after  many  sorrows    great  honors  her  were  done. 

XXIII. -XXIV  — Etzel  fervently  loved  his  wife., 
who  was  held  in  high  esteem  by  all  for  her  great 
kindness.  Thus  seven  years  passed  and  Kriemhild 
gave  birth  to  a  son,  who  was  called  Ortlieb.  Yet  she 
was  often  buried  in  silent  grief. 

She  thought  of  many  an  honor    which  in  the  Niblung  land 
Had  been  in  her  possession,     and  which  Sir  Hagen's  hand 
Had  seized  and  taken  from  her     with  Siegfried's  overthrow  ; 
She  pondered  how  some  sorrow    might  yet  befall  her  foe. 

Six  years  more  passed,  and  at  last,  twenty-six  years 
after  Siegfried's  death,  her  plans  were  ripened.  She 
pretended  to  have  a  great  desire  to  see  her  relatives 
and  friends,  and  at  her  request  Etzel  ordered  his 
minstrels,  Werbel  and  Schwemmel,  to  set  out  imme- 
diately for  Worms,  and  to  invite  the  Burgundians  to 
a  great  festival  to  be  held  at  the  coming  midsummer 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  27 

Kriemhild  secretly  told  the  messengers  that  above 
all  things  they  should  see  that  Hagen  did  not  stay 
behind. 

When  the  messengers  arrived  at  Worms,  Gunther, 
his  brothers,  and  the  great  vassals  of  the  realm  were 
ready  to  comply  with  Etzel's  invitation.  Hagen 
was  strongly  opposed  to  it,  and  his  ire  was  aroused 
at  the  mere  mention  of  the  proposal.  He  said  to 
Gunther,  — 

"  You  truly  must  remember    the  deeds  we  have  done  here ; 
We  therefore  must  of  Kriemhild     be  e'er  in  constant  fear. 
I  pierced  to  death  her  husband     and  slew  him  with  my  hand : 
How  shall  we  ever  venture     to  ride  to  Etzel's  laud  ?  " 

Gunther  replied  that  his  sister  had  forgotten  and 
forgiven  the  wrong  of  the  past ;  yet  Hagen  did  not 
waver  from  his  resolution  until  Giselher  intimated 
that  he  was  afraid ;  then  he  declared  that  he  would 
go,  and  even  lead  them  to  Etzel's  realm. 

XXV.  -  XXVIII.  —  One  thousand  and  sixty 
knights,  in  gorgeous  attire,  with  nine  thousand  yeo- 
men, left  Worms,  despite  the  warnings  of  old  Queen 
Ute,  who  said,  — 

"  Last  night  I  dreamed  of  sorrow,    in  anguish  dire  and  dread,  — 
That  every  winged  creature     in  Burgundy  was  dead." 

Among  this  gallant  host  were  Dankwart,  Hagen's 
brother,  and  Volker  of  Alzey.  In  this  connection 
it  must  be  said  that  since  the  Nibelung  hoard  had 
come  into  the  power  of  the  Burgundians,  the  latter 
were  named  Nibelungs,  just  as  formerly  Siegfried,  on 


28  THE   GREAT   EPICS  OF 

account  of  the  same  possession,  had  been  called  the 
Lord  of  the  Nibelungs. 

Hagen,  henceforth  the  mighty  bulwark  of  the  Ni- 
belungs, was  the  dauntless  leader  of  the  host  which 
proudly  rode  up  the  river  Main,  then  through  Eastern 
Franconia,  and,  on  the  twelfth  morning  reached  the 
Danube.  The  river  had  overflowed  its  banks,  and  no 
boats  were  in  sight.  The  king  and  his  knights  were 
greatly  dismayed,  but  Hagen  bade  them  remain  by 
the  stream,  while  he,  fully  armed,  departed. 

He  strode  along  the  river    to  find  a  ferryman. 
At  once  he  heard  a  splashing,  —    to  listen  he  began : 
Within  a  beauteous  water    some  mermaids  sported  gay, 
Who  had  been  there  for  bathing    beneath  the  cool,  clear  spray. 

As  soon  as  Hagen  perceived  them,  he  slyly  stole 
up  to  them,  but  they  escaped ;  yet  Hageu,  well  know- 
ing that  they  could  foretell  future  events,  seized  their 
raiment.  In  order  to  obtain  it,  one  of  the  mermaids 
foretold  that  no  such  honors  had  ever  been  awarded 
to  heroes  in  a  foreign  land  as  they  should  attain. 
Hagen  was  delighted,  and  returned  their  garments. 
Then  the  other  mermaid  spoke :  — 

" '  T  was  to  obtain  her  raiment    my  cousin  told  thee  wrong, 
If  thou  shalt  go  to  Hunland,     thou  'It  rue  it  before  long. 

"  You  should  turn  back  most  quickly ;     while  there  is  time, 

beware! 

Because  ye  dauntless  heroes  were  only  bidden  there, 
That  all  of  you  should  perish  and  die  in  Etzel's  land ; 
Whoever  rideth  thither  takes  death  within  his  hand." 

Thereto  replied  Sir  Hagen :     "  Your  cheating  is  in  vain ; 
How  could  it  ever  happen    that  we  should  all  be  slain 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  29 

In  royal  Etzel's  kingdom    through  some  one's  deadly  hate  P  " 
Then  told  she  yet  more  plainly    the  tidings  of  their  fate. 

She  said :  "  Be  warned,  Sir  Hagen,    because  it  iieeds  must  be 
That  none  of  you  bold  heroes     his  home  again  shall  see,— 
None  save  the  royal  chaplain.     To  us  it  is  well  known, 
That  he  to  Gunther's  country    shall  safe  return  alone." 

As  Hagen  scorned  the  warning  of  the  mermaids, 
they  told  him  where  to  find  the  ferryman.  "He  is 
most  wrathful,"  they  said ;  "  and  besides,  he  is  a  friend 
of  Sir  Gelfrat,  brother  of  the  margrave,  and  a  power- 
ful lord  in  Bavaria.  If  he  will  not  comply  with  your 
request,  announce  yourself  as  Amelrich  and  he  will 
obey  you."  The  ferryman  at  first  remained  deaf  to 
Hagen's  loud  summons  and  offers  of  rich  reward,  but 
as  soon  as  he  heard  Amelrich' s  name  he  rowed  across 
the  stream.  Expecting  to  find  his  brother,  whose 
name  was  Amelrich,  he  grew  furious  when  he  saw 
that  he  had  been  deceived.  Hagen  at  once  leaped 
into  the  bark,  and  besought  him  to  take  the  Nibelung 
host  and  their  horses  across  the  river. 

The  ferryman  retorted :    "  That  never  can  be  so, 

Since  my  good  lords  and  masters     have  here  full  many  a  foe. 

I  therefore  put  no  strangers    across  into  their  land, 

And  if  thy  life  thou  lovest,     step  quickly  to  the  strand." 

Since  Hagen  refused  to  obey,  the  ferryman  seized 
an  oar  and  smote  him  with  such  force  that  he  stag- 
gered and  fell  on  his  knees ;  but  Hagen  wrathfully 
grasped  his  sword  and  struck  off  the  ferryman's 
head.  Then  the  bark  was  seized  by  the  current,  and 
Hagen  succeeded  only  after  much  toil  in  reaching  the 


30  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

shore  where  the  army  was  stationed.  He  himself 
plied  the  bark  to  and  fro  until  all  of  them  were  safely 
landed.  As  he  crossed  over  for  the  last  time,  and 
his  gloomy  soul  brooded  over  the  words  of  the  mer- 
maid, he  suddenly  seized  the  chaplain  and  cast  him 
overboard.  Although  his  lords  heaped  reproaches  on 
him,  he  pushed  the  priest  with  his  oar  back  into  the 
flood,  as  the  latter  tried  to  swim  after  the  bark.  The 
chaplain  turned  about  and  safely  reached  the  shore, 
protected  by  the  hand  of  God,  as  he  could  not  swim. 
As  he  stood  there  and  shook  his  dripping  garments, 
Hagen  knew  well  that  the  mermaid  had  spoken  the 
truth  and  that  the  beginning  of  the  end  had  come. 
When  the  last  voyage  had  been  completed,  he  broke 
the  bark  in  pieces. 

The  Nibelung  army  marched  onward  through  Ba- 
varia, and  Volker  of  Alzey  led  them,  as  he  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  country. 

"  Now  take  good  heed,"  said  Hagen,     "  esquire  as  well  as 

knight, 

And  follow  friendly  counsel ;  methinks  this  is  but  right, 
Since  most  unwholesome  tidings  to  you  I  must  explain. 
I  know  that  we  shall  never  see  Burgundy  again. 

"  Two  mermaids  told  me  truly,     at  early  morn  to-day, 

That  ne'er  we  '11  see  our  country.      What  must  be  done,  I  '11 

say : 

Take  up  your  arms,  ye  heroes,     and  for  affray  prepare  ; 
We  here  have  powerful  enemies,    and  warlike  must  welfare. 

"  I  weened  that  those  wise  mermaids     were  bent  upon  deceit : 
They  prophesied  that  no  one    of  all  of  us  shall  greet 
Again  his  home  and  country,     none  save  the  priest  alone ; 
That  I  should  therefore  gladly   have  seen  him  drowned,  I  own." 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  31 

Hagen's  words  soon  became  known  to  the  whole 
army,  and  the  cheeks  of  many  dauntless  heroes  waxed 
pallid,  while  Hagen's  martial  spirit  was  kindled  to 
higher  flames  the  more  he  was  convinced  that  he 
fought  against  immutable  fate.  His  unfaltering  cour- 
age, together  with  his  noble  devotion  to  his  .  liege 
lords,  make  him  one  of  the  grandest  characters  in 
this  second  part  of  our-poem. 

After  a  bloody  fight  with  the  Bavarians,  who  had 
attacked  the  rear  guard  of  the  army  to  avenge  the 
death  of  the  ferryman,  they  reached  Passau,  and  later 
the  home  of  Elidiger  of  Bechlaren,  where  they  were 
cordially  entertained  by  the  margrave,  his  wife  Gote- 
lind,  and  his  daughter  Dietelind.  The  latter  was  be- 
trothed to  Giselher,  to  the  great  joy  of  all.  Before 
the  Nibelungs  left  Bechlaren,  the  margrave  gave  a 
beautiful  sword  to  Gernot  and  the  margravine  pre- 
sented Hagen  with  a  costly  shield.  Many  were  the 
joys  of  the  Nibelungs  during  their  brief  sojourn  at 
Bechlaren.  It  was  the  "last  time  that  the  light  of 
peace  and  friendship  shone  upon  them  in  its  fullest 
glow,  for  dark  night  approached  with  threatening 
steps,  and  the  gloomy  sky  was  furrowed  only  by 
lightning  flashes,  showing  how  the  scythe  of  death 
would  mow  down  the  noble  warlike  host. 

When  the  Nibelungs  had  entered  the  land  of  the 
Huus,  they  were  first  met  by  Dietrich  von  Bern,  who 
had  come  with  his  Amelung  knights  to  salute  and 
warn  them.  "  Kriemhild,"  he  said,  "  still  bewails 
Siegfried's  death." 


32  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

There  spoke  to  him  Sir  Hagen :    "Long  may  she  weep  and  cry, 
Since  he  received  his  death-blow    full  many  a  year  passed  by. 
Upon  the  king  of  Hunland     she  may  her  love  bestow, 
For  ne'er  again  comes  Siegfried ;     he  's  buried  long  ago. 

"  The  death  of  that  bold  hero     concerns  us  now  no  wise ; 
As  long  as  lives  Dame  Kriemhild,    great  ills  may  yet  arise." 
Replied  the  valiant  Dietrich,     of  Bern  the  noble  chief : 
"  O  thou,  the  Niblung's  bulwark,     beware  of  coming  grief ! " 

The  last  words  were  addressed  to  Gunther,  who, 
with  his  brothers,  Hagen  and  Volker,  drew  aside  to 
hear  more  particular  news  from  Dietrich.  The  latter 
could  only  repeat  that  early  every  morning  Kriem- 
hild calls  on  Heaven  to  avenge  her  Siegfried's  death. 

"  It  cannot  be  prevented,"     replied  the  fiddler  bold, 

The  dauntless  hero  Volker,     "  what  now  we  have  been  told. 

To  royal  Etzel's  palace     let  us  now  ride  and  see 

What  may  the  fate  in  Hunland     of  us,  brave  warriors,  be." 

As  the  Mbelungs  pressed  forward  to  Etzel's  court, 
the  eyes  of  the  Huns  were  eagerly  fastened  on  Ha- 
gen, for  it  was  well  known  among  them  that  he  had 
slain  Siegfried,  the  strongest  of  heroes.  Hagen  was 
well  built,  with  broad  chest  and  shoulders,  and  strong 
limbs.  His  countenance  was  awe-inspiring,  his  hair 
had  become  grizzled,  and  his  carriage  was  majestic. 

At  the  queen's  command  the  yeomen  were  quar- 
tered at  a  place  quite  remote  from  that  of  the  knights, 
yet  Gunther  intrusted  the  former  to  the  care  of  Dank- 
wart,  Hagen's  brother. 

In  the  meantime  fair  Kriemhild  approached  and 
received  her  guests  with  treachery  in  her  soul ;  her 
brother  Giselher  alone  she  kissed  and  took  by  the 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  33 

hand.  When  Hagen  saw  that,  he  fastened  his  hel- 
met more  securely  and  said,  "  After  such  a  welcome, 
the  bold  knights  will  do  well  to  be  on  their  guard. 
Surely  our  journey  to  this  festival  has  been  an  evil 
one."  Kriemhild  heard  these  words. 

She  said :  "  To  him  be  welcome    who  likes  to  see  you  here. 
I  owe  you  for  your  friendship    no  greeting  and  no  cheer. 
But  speak,  what  have  you  brought  me    from  Worms  across  the 

Rhine, 
Why  you  should  be  so  welcome     within  this  realm  of  mine  ?  " 

Hagen  answered  scornfully,  and  as  Krieinhild 
questioned  him  in  regard  to  the  Nibelung  hoard,  he 
replied,  — 

"My  liege  lords  had  it  buried    beneath  the  Rhine  for  aye; 
It  truly  must  remain  there    unto  the  judgment  day." 

When  the  queen  expressed  again  her  sorrow  for 
the  lost  treasure,  and  still  more  for  the  Lord  of  the 
Mbelungs, 

Sir  Hagen  then  responded :    "  In  vain  is  all  this  care. 
How  could  I  bring  the  treasure  ?    I  had  enough  to  bear 
My  coat  of  mail  and  buckler,     my  helmet  bright  and  clear, 
My  sword  within  its  scabbard.     Naught  else  have  I  brought 
here." 

The  queen  thereon  commanded    unto  the  warriors  all, 
That  none  should  wear  his  weapons     within  the  royal  hall : 
"  I  '11  care  for  them,  ye  heroes,     intrust  them  unto  me." 
"  Upon  my  troth,"  said  Hagen,     "  that  nevermore  shall  be." 

Kriemhild  was  then  aware  that  the  Nibelungs  had 
been  warned,  and  she  threatened  death  to  him  who 
had  done  it  But  as  Dietrich  von  Bern  declared  that 


34  THE   GEEAT   EPICS  OF 

he  had  warned  them,  Kriemhild  blushed  from  shame 
and  wrath,  while  she  was  filled  with  terror  at  Die- 
trich's threatening  mien. 

XXIX.  -  XXXII.  —  A  remarkably  fine  picture  is 
presented  by  Hagen's  friendship  with  Volker,  who 
was  surnamed  "  the  Fiddler,"  as  he  had  a  fiddle-bow 
one  side  of  which  was  a  keen-edged  sword.  Strong 
in  their  brotherhood  of  arms,  they  were  ever  ready  to 
defy  death,  and  to  defy  it  with  the  certainty  in  their 
hearts  that  with  every  hour  it  drew  inevitably  nearer. 
Their  friendship  was  steeled  by  the  sufferings  which 
they  underwent  and  by  the  horrors  amidst  and  against 
which  they  fought,  and  fought  in  vain. 

Kriemhild  endeavored  now  to  execute  her  plans  of 
revenge,  especially  as  her  anger  had  been  increased 
by  the  sight  of  Siegfried's  sword,  which  Hagen  bore 
proudly  and  ostentatiously  before  her  eyes.  In  the 
meantime  Gunther  and  his  chivalry  were  cordially 
received  by  King  Etzel,  who  suspected  nothing  of 
Kriemhild's  designs. 

When  night  drew  near,  the  guests  were  led  to  a 
spacious  hall  where  luxurious  beds  had  been  prepared 
for  them.  Hagen  and  Yolker,  donning  their  armor, 
went  to  keep  watch  before  the  door.  Volker  leaned 
his  shield  against  the  outside  wall  of  the  house,  and, 
taking  his  viol  in  his  hand,  seated  himself  on  a  stone 
beneath  the  entrance  of  the  hall 

And  with  his  viol's  music    resounded  house  and  hall ; 
Great  was  beyond  all  measure    his  strength  and  skill  withal. 
But  sweeter  then  and  softer    the  knight  to  play  began, 
Until  he  lulled  to  slumber     full  many  a  careworn  man. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  35 

When  Volker  saw  that  all  were  soundly  asleep,  he 
took  his  shield  again,  and  together  with  Hagen  con- 
tinued to  keep  the  lonely  watch  before  the  hall  In 
the  realm  of  poetry  will  be  found  few  grander  pic- 
tures than  the  aspect  of  those  two  heroic  figures  pass- 
ing to  and  fro  in  glittering  armor  amidst  the  deep 
silence  and  gloom  of  night.  Their  thoughts  went  back- 
to  the  verdant  meadows  and  the  peaceful,  blooming 
dales  of  the  Rhine,  while  their  undaunted  souls  defied 
the  final  doom  that  hung  threatening  over  them  and 
their  friends. 

On  the  following  day  a  great  festival  was  held  at 
Etzel's  palace  in  honor  of  his  guests.  While  the 
knights  took  their  seats  in  the  festal  hall,  Rriemhild 
implored  Dietrich  von  Bern  to  revenge  her  on  her 
foes. 

To  her  replied  Sir  Dietrich,     with  courtly  speech  and  mien : 
"  Desist  from  thy  entreaties,     most  rich  and  mighty  queen ! 
For  never  have  thy  kinsmen    to  me  done  any  wrong, 
That  I  should  fight  with  heroes    so  noble  and  so  strong. 

"  It  does  thee  little  honor,    thou  noble  royal  dame, 

To  plot  against  thy  kindred    and  at  their  life  to  aim. 

In  trust  upon  thy  bidding    they  came  to  Etzel's  land, 

And  unavenged  must  Siegfried    remain  by  Dietrich's  hand." 

Kriemhild  found  a  more  willing  tool  for  her  bloody 
schemes  in  Blodel,  Etzel's  brother,  who  was  won  over 
by  the  queen's  magnificent  promises  of  lands  and 
castles,  and  especially  by  her  assurance  that  she 
would  give  him  a  beautiful  lady  for  his  wife.  While 
Blodel  departed  with  his  warriors  to  attack  the  yeo- 


36  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

men  at  their  quarters,  Kriemhild  went  to  join  her  lord 
at  the  royal  banquet. 

After  a  long  and  desperate  combat,  in  which  Blodel 
fell  by  Dank  wart's  hand,  all  the  Burgundian  yeomen 
and  twelve  knights  were  slain  by  the  Huns,  who  had 
attacked  them  with  an  overpowering  force.  The  din 
of  battle  ceased,  and  the  stalwart  form  of  Dankwart 
alone  towered  terribly  over  his  slain  friends  and 
the  exasperated  Huns.  Casting  a  sad  glance  at  the 
former, 

He  said :  "  Alas,  my  comrades,    whose  death  I  must  bemoan  ! 
Now  I  must  stand  forsaken,     among  my  foes  alone." 

Yet  the  dauntless  knight  cut  his  way  to  the  door  of 
the  hall.  When  he  was  without,  the  Huns  assailed 
him  again,  hoping  to  overcome  him,  as  he  had  lost 
his  shield  in  the  combat. 

He  went  before  his  enemies    as  a  wild  boar  will  flee 

The  hounds  throughout  the  forest.     How  could  he  bolder  be  ? 

XXXIII.  -  XXXVIII. — At  last  Dankwart,  stream- 
ing with  the  blood  of  the  slain  Huns,  rushed  into  the 
festal  hall  where  Etzel  and  many  of  his  vassals  enter- 
tained the  Mbelungs. 

Then  shouted  forth  Sir  Dankwart    unto  a  brave  compeer : 
"  Too  long,  O  brother  Hagen,    you  have  been  sitting  here. 
To  you  and  God  in  heaven    must  I  bewail  our  woe, — 
The  knights  and  all  the  yeomen    at  quarters  are  laid  low." 

When  Hagen  had  learned  how  the  carnage  had 
taken  place, 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  37 

He  said :    "  Now,  brother  Dankwart,    defend  thj  door  with 

might; 
Let  not  come  out  hereafter    a  single  Hunnish  knight." 

Shortly  before  Dankwart  had  entered  the  hall,  the 
young  son  of  Etzel  and  Kriemhild  had  been  shown 
to  the  guests,  and  the  anger  of  Etzel  and  of  the  Huns 
was  aroused  by  some  disdainful  remarks  of  Hagen 
in  regard  to  the  child.  The  Huns,  enraged  at  Dank- 
wart's  guarding  the  door,  consulted  with  one  another 
in  whispers,  whereupon  Hagen  exclaimed,  — 

"  I  have  heard  very  often    of  Kriemhild  many  a  tale, 
How  she  her  heart's  deep  sorrow    will  ne'er  cease  to  bewail. 
Now  drink  we  the  remembrance,*    with  royal  wine  we  '11  cheer. 
The  youthful  prince  of  Hunlaud     must  be  the  first  one  here." 

The  terrible  words  were  followed  by  the  bloody 
deed.  Hagen  smote  off  Ortlieb's  head,  which  fell  in- 
to Kriemhild's  lap.  Volker  wielded  his  sword  fiddle- 
bow  with  such  fury  that  the  helmets  of  the  Huns 
resounded  terribly  from  its  blows.  Gunther  and  his 
brothers  had  at  first  attempted  to  bring  about  a  cessa- 
tion of  hostilities,  but  the  fury  of  Hagen  and  Volker 
rendered  their  efforts  fruitless,  and  they  themselves 
joined  in  the  conflict. 

Although  King  Etzel's  liegemen    fought  well  against  their  foe, 
One  saw  the  dauntless  strangers     there  striding  to  and  fro. 

*  The  German  2ftmne  is  used  here  in  its  primitive  meaning.  To 
drink  3Rinne  meant  to  drink  in  remembrance  and  in  honor  of  the 
dead.  It  took  place  at  the  close  of  the  feast.  Thus  Hagen  ended 
the  feast  by  drinking  in  remembrance  of  Siegfried  ;  but  the  draught 
was  the  king's  wine,  i.  e.  the  blood  of  his  child  and  of  his  liegemen. 
(Vilmar,  p.  75.) 


7  *J  o  n 


38  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

Their  glittering  swords  they  wielded    in  Etzel's  hall  around ; 
On  all  sides  from  the  combat    rang  forth  a  ghastly  sound. 

Yolker  joined  Dankwart  at  the  door  to  keep  off 
the  Huns,  who  from  without  furiously  assailed  the 
entrance  to  help  their  comrades  within.  While  the 
contest  grew  fiercer,  Kriemhild,  filled  with  dismay, 
called  on  Dietrich  von  Bern  to  protect  her.  The 
noble  chief  of  the  Goths  leaped  upon  a  table,  and 
his  powerful  voice  resounded  through  the  palace  like 
the  blast  from  a  buffalo  horn  amidst  the  din  of  battle. 
At  Gunther's  command  the  tumult  and  slaughter 
ceased  for  an  instant,  while  Dietrich  demanded  per- 
mission to  withdraw  from  the  palace  with  his  fol- 
lowers. Gunther  readily  consented,  and  Dietrich, 
with  the  terrified  Kriemhild  leaning  on  one  arm  and 
Etzel  on  the  other,  left  the  hall,  followed  by  six  hun- 
dred Amelung  knights.  The  same  permission  was 
granted  to  Eiidiger  and  his  liegemen. 

Hardly  had  they  left,  when  the  combat  between 
the  Nibelungs  and  the  Huns  within  the  hall  began 
again  with  renewed  fury,  until  every  Hun  in  the  pal- 
ace was  slain.  Hagen  and  Volker  haughtily  strode 
about  before  the  hall  At  Kriemhild's  instigation 
and  promises  of  reward,  Iring  of  Denmark  attacked 
Hagen,  but  was  slain  by  the  latter  after  a  heroic 
combat. 

As  evening  drew  near,  the  Huns  approached  in 
greater  numbers  than  before,  and  again  a  fearful 
strife  began  between  the  contending  foes. 

Of  such  a  murderous  battle    the  queen  had  never  thought ; 
When  she  began  her  plotting,     she  gladly  would  have  sought 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  39 

That  no  one  else  but  Hagen    should  have  to  lose  his  life ; 
Yet  -worked  the  evil  spirit    that  all  must  fall  in  strife. 

The  Nibelungs,  exhausted  by  the  constant  fighting, 
and  seeing  that  the  hall  was  surrounded  by  the  Huns, 
preferred  a  speedy  death  to  slow  suffering,  and  there- 
fore demanded  an  interview  with  Etzel. 

The  guests  he  thus  accosted :     "  Speak  what  you  want  of  me, 
Ye  ween  to  sue  for  friendship  ?    That  hardly  now  can  be. 
Ye  slew  my  child,  together    with  many  a  kinsman  true  ; 
Both  peace  and  friendship  ever    shall  be  denied  to  you." 

Gunther  replied  that  the  slaying  of  the  yeomen  by 
the  Huns  was  the  cause  of  all  the  following  combats  : 
but  Etzel  was  not  to  be  appeased.  Then  Gernot  de- 
manded that  they  should  be  allowed  to  leave  the  hall 
and  to  die  fighting  in  the  open  space,  since  die  they 
must.  Etzel  and  the  Huns  would  have  complied 
with  this  demand ;  but  Kriemhild  interfered,  saying 
that  her  kinsmen,  when  once  refreshed  by  the  cool 
wind,  would  slay  all  their  enemies.  Then  her  young- 
est brother,  whom  she  had  loved  most,  made  a  touch- 
ing appeal  to  the  frenzied  queen. 

Young  Giselher  addressed  her :     "  Beloved  sister  mine, 
How  could  I  have  imagined    when  I  across  the  Rhine 
Into  King  Etzel's  country     came  at  thy  kind  behest, 
That  by  such  pain  and  sorrow    I  here  should  be  oppressed. 

"  I  e'er  to  thee  was  faithful,     nor  caused  thee  any  grief. 
I  rode  into  this  country    with  such  a  strong  belief 
That  thou  to  me  wert  friendly,     most  noble  sister  mine. 
Bestow  on  us  thy  mercy  !     Naught  else  thou  canst  design." 

Giselher's  entreaty  was  not  without  exerting  some 
softening  influence  on  the  queen's  heart ;  her  sisterly 


40  THE  GREAT  EPICS  OF 

love  was  not  yet  entirely  quenched  by  her  thoughts 
of  revenge,  and  she  promised  to  spare  the  lives  of  her 
brothers  if  they  would  deliver  Hagen  into  her  hands. 
This  proposal  was  indignantly  rejected  by  all,  and 
Kriemhild's  fury  increased  as  her  last  attempt  to  get 
Hagen  into  her  power  seemed  to  be  frustrated.  She 
turned  to  the  Huns  and  said,  — 

"  Let  none  now  leave  the  palace,    none  of  those  warriors  all ; 
And  then  on  its  four  corners     I  '11  bid  you  fire  the  hall." 

The  cruel  command  was  at  once  obeyed  by  the 
Huns,  after  all  the  Mbelungs  who  had  stood  without 
the  hall  had  been  driven  within.  The  royal  brothers 
and  their  vassals  stood  faithfully  by  each  other  in 
this  fatal  hour  of  severest  trial. 

Seized  by  the  wind,  the  palace    blazed  up  in  fiery  glow. 
I  ween,  no  heroes  ever    encountered  such  a  woe. 

Tormented  by  the  heat  and  smoke,  and  still  more 
by  the  unquenchable  thirst,  the  Nibelungs  came  nigh 
despairing. 

In  such  distress  spoke  Hagen  :     "  Ye  noble  knights  and  good, 
Whoe'er  by  thirst  is  tortured,     may  take  a  draught  of  blood  ; 
In  such  a  heat  and  suffering    it  better  is  than  wine. 
Naught  else  for  food  or  drinking    you  '11  find  here,  I  opine." 

Hagen's  advice  was  followed.  The  burning  rafters 
fell  thickly  from  the  roof,  but  the  knights  pressed 
close  to  the  stone  walls  and  extinguished  the  fire- 
flakes  in  the  blood  under  their  feet.  Thus  the  ter- 
rible night  wore  away.  At  morning,  to  the  great 
surprise  of  Kriemhild,  six  hundred  Nibeluugs  were 


MEDIEVAL    GERMANY.  41 

still  found  living  among  the  smoking  ruins.  They 
were  at  once  attacked  by  twelve  hundred  Huns,  but 
the  latter  were  slain,  every  one  of  them,  by  Gunther 
and  his  vassals. 

One  of  the  most  touching  pictures  in  these  last 
struggles  of  the  Nibelungs  is  Rlidiger  of  Bechlaren. 
The  queen  reminded  him  of  his  vow  at  Worms  before 
she  consented  to  marry  Etzel,  while  he  thought  of  the 
friends  whom  he  had  conducted  hither.  Riidiger  said 
to  the  queen,  — 

"  Quite  truly  hast  thou  spoken,    thou  noble,  royal  dame, 
That  I  for  thee  should  venture     my  life  and  eke  my  fame. 
To  lose  my  soul's  salvation     for  thee,  I  ne'er  have  sworn ; 
I  brought  here  to  this  country    thy  brothers,  nobly  born." 

But  Kriemhild  strongly  reminded  him  again  of  his 
oath  to  wreak  vengeance  on  any  one  who  should  harm 
her,  and  both  she  and  Etzel  begged  the  margrave  in 
the  most  humble  and  piteoiis  manner  to  aid  them. 

Riidiger,  whose  heart  was  rent  in  twain  by  the  con- 
sciousness of  his  duty  towards  his  liege  lord  and  by 
the  obligations  of  friendship  towards  the  three  royal 
brothers,  exclaimed,  — 

"  Alas !  I,  God-forsaken,     have  come  to  see  this  day  ! 

And  all  my  lofty  honors     I  must  now  cast  away ; 

My  faithfulness  and  virtue,     which  God  bestowed  on  me. 

0  bounteous  God  in  heaven,    let  death  now  set  me  free  ! 

"  Whomever  I  abandon,     to  take  the  other  side, 

1  needs  must  do  what 's  evil,     whatever  may  betide  ; 

And  should  I  both  relinquish,     then  scorn  me  man  and  wife. 
May  he  alone  now  guide  me,     the  Author  of  my  life  !  " 


42  THE   GREAT   EPICS  OF 

Being  aware  that  he  could  no  longer  resist  Etzel's 
command,  his  thoughts  turned  to  his  home. 

"  I  trust  unto  your  pity     my  wife,  my  child  withal, 
Besides  the  homeless  beiiigs    within  Bechlareu's  wall." 

After  this  farewell  he  bade  his  vassals  arm  them- 
selves at  once ;  and  as  Giselher  saw  Elidiger  with  five 
hundred  warriors  approaching  the  palace,  he  was  re- 
joiced at  the  supposed  succor.  Yet  he  was  speedily 
disappointed ;  for  Eiidiger  laid  his  shield  at  his  feet, 
and  shouted  to  the  Mbelungs  that  his  friendship  with 
them  was  ended,  and  that  henceforth  he  would  be 
their  foe.  Gunther,  Gernot,  and  Giselher  conjured  him 
to  think  of  his  fidelity  towards  them,  but  Eiidiger 
expressed  his  heartfelt  sorrow  at  the  dire  necessity  to 
which  he  had  to  submit,  and  wished  that  they  were 
at  the  Ehine  and  he  were  dead.  Deeply  impressive 
were  the  appeals  of  Gernot  when  he  reminded  him  of 
the  sword  which  he  had  received  from  him  at  Bech- 
laren,  and  with  which  he  might  be  forced  to  slay  the 
giver ;  touching  were  Giselher's  farewell  words  to  the 
father  of  his  bride,  —  yet  Eiidiger,  although  broken- 
hearted, clung  to  his  duty,  and  the  Nibelungs  well 
understood  his  pain.  The  combat  was  about  to  begin 
when  Hagen  told  Eiidiger  that  the  shield  which  he 
had  received  as  a  gift  from  the  margravine  during 
their  visit  at  Bechlaren  was  hewn  asunder.  Eiidiger 
offered  him  his  own  shield. 

However  grim  was  Hagen,     however  hard  his  mood, 
Yet  at  this  gift  he  softened,     which  that  great  hero  good 
Had  then  bestowed  upon  him      even  as  the  end  drew  nigh ; 
Full  many  a  noble  champion    began  with  him  to  sigh. 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  43 

"  May  God  in  heaven  reward  you,     most  noble  Riidiger  ! 
Your  like  is  not  encountered    on  earth  here  anywhere  ; 
Ye,  who  to  homeless  heroes     give  such  kind  gift  away, — 
May  God  grant  that  your  virtue    shall  live  and  last  for  aye." 

All  who  witnessed  the  sad  spectacle  were  moved  to 
tears,  especially  when  Hagen  declared  that  he  would 
not  touch  Riidiger  in  the  approaching  strife.  The 
same  promise  was  made  by  Volker.  Then  Eiidiger 
seized  a  shield  and  furiously  assailed  his  foes.  The 
latter  allowed  the  margrave  and  his  vassals  to  enter 
the  hall  of  death  in  order  to  slay  them  more  surely. 
Riidiger  fought  with  inexpressible  rage  and  killed 
many  of  Gunther's  vassals,  until  Gernot  challenged 
him  to  single  combat. 

Their  keen-edged  swords  they  wielded;    no  help  was  'gainst 

their  might. 

Brave  Riidiger,  assailing    Gernot,  the  dauntless  knight, 
Smote  through  his  flint-hard  helmet   so  that  the  blood  streamed 

down; 
Yet  fiercely  him  requited    that  chief  of  great  renown. 

The  margrave's  gift  he  lifted    on  high  against  his  foe  ; 
However  deadly  wounded,    he  dealt  him  such  a  blow 
As  cut  his  shield  asunder,     and  eke  his  helmet  broke  : 
The  beauteous  Gotland's  consort    fell  dead  beneath  the  stroke. 

Thus  both  were  laid  low,  each  by  the  other's  equal 
strength.  The  fury  of  the  Nibelungs  at  seeing  Ger- 
not slain  grew  more  fierce,  and  all  the  vassals  of 
Riidiger  speedily  met  their  doom.  The  corpse  of 
the  noble  margrave  was  shown  to  Kriemhild,  and  im- 
moderate were  her  lamentations  and  those  of  Etzel 
when  they  knew  the  terrible  loss  they  had  sustained. 


44  THE   GREAT  EPICS  OF 

Their  cries  resounded  through  the  palace,  and  at 
last  Dietrich  von  Bern  was  apprised  of  the  mournful 
tidings,  which  he  would  hardly  believe.  He  sent  his 
faithful  friend  and  vassal  Hildebrand  to  learn  from 
the  Nibelungs  themselves  what  had  happened.  Hil- 
debrand went  forth,  escorted,  contrary  to  Dietrich's 
command,  by  all  the  Amelung  knights,  among  whom 
Wolfhart,  Hildebrand's  nephew,  was  the  most  dis- 
tinguished. When  Hildebrand  asked  for  Elidiger's 
corpse  in  order  to  bury  it,  the  demand  was  refused, 
and  soon  the  Amelungs  rushed  to  the  attack.  The 
Nibelungs  well  knew  that  their  fatal  hour  had  at  last 
come,  and  they  fought  with  the  frenzy  and  valor  of 
doomed  giants.  Volker,  the  fiddler  bold,  next  to  Ha- 
gen  the  bulwark  of  the  Nibelungs,  fell  by  the  hand 
of  Hildebrand. 

But  in  the  meantime  Wolfhart    had  twice  amidst  the  fray 
Struck  down  King  Gunther's  warriors,     who  came  across  his 

way; 

Now  for  the  third  time  cut  he    a  path  throughout  the  hall, 
And  caused  by  his  great  power    full  many  a  hero's  fall. 

Giselher  beheld  with  terror  Wolfhart's  slaughter 
among  his  friends,  and  turned  against  him.  After  a 
fierce  struggle  the  two  knights  gave  grim  death  to 
each  other.  Then  Hagen,  furious  at  the  death  of 
his  friend  Volker,  met  Hildebrand,  who  was  enraged 
at  the  overthrow  of  his  beloved  nephew.  Hagen 
wielded  the  sword  Balmung,  which  he  had  possessed 
since  Siegfried's  death,  and  smote  through  Hilde- 
brand's hauberk,  inflicting  a  severe  wound  on  him. 
The  latter,  covering  himself  with  his  shield,  fled.  Of 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  45 

the  Nibelungs  all,  save  Gunther  and  Hagen,  had  been 
slain  in  the  hall  of  carnage ;  of  the  Amelungs  none 
had  escaped,  except  Hildebrand. 

Hildebrand  brought  the  sad  tidings  to  Dietrich, 
whom  he  found  sorely  oppressed  with  dire  forebod- 
ings. The  aged  knight  recounted  all  that  had  hap- 
pened, and  great  was  Dietrich's  grief  at  the  certain 
news  of  Eiidiger's  death ;  yet  greater  was  his  sorrow 
and  surprise  when  he  heard  that  all  his  men,  save 
Hildebrand,  had  been  slain. 

Dietrich  approached  the  two  remaining  Nibelungs, 
who  in  lonely  grandeur  stood  before  the  hall  and  saw 
him  coining.  Dietrich  demanded  that  they  should 
atone  for  their  deeds.  He  said  to  Gunther,  — 

"  Yield  up  yourself  as  hostage,     and  Hageu  too,  your  man, 
And  then  I  will  protect  you    as  well  as  e'er  I  can, 
That  no  one  here  in  Hunland    shall  do  a  harm  to  you ; 
And  you  will  find  most  surely    that  I  '11  be  kind  and  true." 

Hagen  scorned  the  idea  of  surrender,  when  Dietrich 
again  exclaimed,  — 

"  Upon  my  troth  I  promise,     and  pledge  thereto  my  hand, 
That  I  with  you  together    will  ride  into  your  land ; 
With  honor  I  '11  escort  you,     unless  I  needs  must  die  ; 
For  you  shall  be  forgotten,     my  boundless  misery." 

Hagen  refused  for  the  second  time  to  heed  the 
noble  Dietrich's  request,  and  nothing  was  left  for 
the  latter  but  to  force  compliance  with  his  demands. 
Hagen  rushed  down  from  the  stairway  with  the  Nibe- 
lung  sword  Balmung  in  his  hand,  and  attacked  Die- 
trich, who  well  knew  the  bravery  of  his  foe.  After  a 


46  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

tierce  combat  Hagen  was  severely  wounded ;  but  Die- 
trich, thinking  that  there  would  be  little  honor  for 
him  in  slaying  an  enemy  wearied  by  constant  fight- 
ing, enclasped  him  in  his  powerful  arms  and  bore  him 
captive  to  Kriemhild.  The  queen,  filled  with  fiendish 
delight  at  seeing  her  archenemy  in  her  power,  greatly 
praised  Dietrich ;  but  the  high-minded  hero  bade  her 
spare  Hagen's  life.  While  Hagen  was  thrown  into  a 
dungeon  where  none  could  see  him,  Dietrich  went 
back  to  the  hall  There  Gunther  assailed  him,  yet 
he  overcame  the  Burgundian  king  and  bore  him  in 
bonds  to  Kriemhild.  The  latter  bade  a  mocking  wel- 
come to  her  brother,  while  Dietrich  enjoined  her  to 
treat  fairly  the  two  homeless  knights.  Gunther  was 
led  to  another  prison  than  the  one  into  which  Hagen 
had  been  cast,  so  that  they  could  not  see  one  another. 
The  queen,  teeming  with  glowing  joy  that  now  at  last 
revenge  might  be  accomplished,  went  to  Hagen's  cell 
and  promised  to  spare  his  life  if  he  would  reveal  the 
place  where  the  Nibelung  hoard  had  been  concealed. 
Hageu,  undaunted  despite  his  fetters,  declared  that  as 
long  as  one  of  his  lords  should  live,  he  would  not  dis- 
close the  secret.  The  frenzied  queen  at  once  had 
Gunther's  head  cut  off,  and  she  herself  bore  it  by  the 
hair  to  Hagen.  When  the  latter  had  recovered  from 
the  horror  with  which  the  deed  filled  his  soul,  he 
exclaimed,  — 

"  Now  all  to  thine  own  pleasure    has  to  an  end  been  brought, 
And  wholly  so  it  happened     as  always  I  had  thought. 

"  No  one  now  knows  the  treasure,     save  God  and  me  alone ; 
To  thee,  infernal  woman,    it  never  shall  be  known." 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  47 

Kriemhild,  once  the  very  type  of  meek  and  gentle 
womanhood,  seized  the  sword  Balmung,  and  with  one 
stroke  fell  Hagen's  head.  Etzel  was  struck  with  dis- 
may at  the  ghastly  deed,  and  Hildebrand,  furious  at 
seeing  the  mighty  hero  thus  dealt  with  by  the  frenzied 
woman,  grasped  his  sword  and  killed  the  queen. 

The  royal  feast  was  ended     in  sorrow  and  in  pain ; 
_^    As  joy  draws  ever  sorrow    behind  it  in  its  train. 

As  Vilmar  says,  with  this  tone  of  deep  sadness  in" 
which  the  last  sounds  of  our  poem  die  away,  it  re- 
turns to  the  primitive  tone  in  which  it  began. 


CHAPTER  III* 

I.   THE  NlBELUNG  EPICS   AND   SAGAS  IN   THE   NOETH. 

II.  THE  LAY  OF  SIEGFRIED. 

I.  As  has  been  mentioned  above,  the  Mbelungen 
Lied  in  its  present  shape  was  composed  towards  the 
end  of  the  twelfth,  or  at  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth 
century.  It  was  then  the  brilliant  era  of  the  Hohen- 
staufen  emperors  (1138—1254),  when  the  courts  of 
Frederick  Barbarossa  and  of  Frederick  II.,  themselves 
the  very  types  of  mediaeval  German  knighthood,  were 
adorned  by  the  flower  of  a  noble  chivalry.  It  was 
then  the  renowned  epoch  of  the  "Minnesanger,"  when 
the  richly  flowing  stream  of  national  greatness  per- 
vaded the  hearts  of  all,  when  the  highest  ideals  held 
forth  by  poetry  were  personal  bravery  and  honor  to  wo- 
man. But  while  the  composition  of  the  Nibelungen 
Lied  belongs  to  one  period,  the  world  that  is  mir- 
rored in  the  poem  belongs  to  another.  At  the  time 
when  our  epic  was  composed,  Germany  had  been 
christianized  for  many  centuries,  and  the  feudal  sys- 

*  Some  pages  of  this  chapter,  and  a  few  remarks  in  the  fifth  chap- 
ter, have  been  reprinted  from  the  author's  introduction  to  his  trans- 
lation of  Emanuel  Geibel's  "  Brunhild." 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  49 

tern  was  then  firmly  established ;  yet  the  beginning  of 
the  Nibelung  myths  and  sagas  must  be  sought  at  an 
epoch  when  most  of  the  German  trjfres,  proud  nf  t.Tip.ir 
freedom,  still  hunted  through  the  primeval  forests  ; 
"when  the  king  was  little  more  than  the  chosen  leader 


in  war ;  when  Odin  and  Thor  were  worshipped  ;  when 
the  sacred  trees  had  not  yet  fallen  under  the  axe  of 
the  Christian  missionaries,  and  the  martial  spirit  of  the 
warriors  was  kindled  to  higher  flames  by  the  joys  that 
waited  for  them  at  the  feasts  of  Valhal.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  in  the  hands  of  a  Christian  composer  of  the 
Nibelungen  Lied,  living  at  the  end  of  the  twelfth 
century,  a  time  so  strongly  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
the  crusades  and  feudalism,  many  of  the  primitive 
ideas  must  have  undergone  important  changes.  Thus 
it  happens  that  the  oSTibelungeu  Lied  appears  at  least 
partly  in  a  garb  that  is  foreign  to  the  source  from 
which  it  came.  But  although  we  have  to  look 
elsewhere  for  the  earlier  records  on  which  the  sub- 
ject of  our  poem  is  based,  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  such 
as  it  is,  remains  a  brilliant  monument  of  mediaeval 
Germany,  and  bears  witness  to  the  martial  spirit  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  which  could  not  forget  the  heroic 
deeds  of  the  past. 

The  Teutonic  nations  that  had  made  an  end  of  the 
Roman  empire,  or  had  settled  near  the  Roman  prov- 
inces, were  early  converted  to  Christianity,  and  at  the 
same  time  powerfully  influenced  by  the  civilization  of 
their  conquered  foes,  —  an  event  in  history  beauti- 
fully described  in  Jordan's  "  Nibelunge  "  :  — 


50  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

2ne  unfere  Sfljnen  ben  GrbfretS  erobert, 
Skrloren  ben  $immd  bie  fjeimtfcfyen  ©otter, 
£>a3  9teidj  tt>ar  entriffen  ber  ewigen  9toma, 
3)odj  ju  gelten  kgann  fte  al«  ©etfterfiirftin. 
&  War  ifyre  <3enbung  ju  fanfterer  ©itte 

^ritmmftafc  bie  $rtcger  511  jaljmen. 


"While  Christianity  became  triumphant  in  Western 
and  Southern  Germany,  and  the  zeal  of  its  priests 
well-nigh  eradicated  every  trace  of  the  former  pagan- 
ism ;  while  Latin  was  the  language  of  the  Roman 
Church,  and  the  traditions  in  the  vernacular  tongue 
were  doomed  to  oblivion  and  destruction,  —  the_pjin> 
itive  belief  of  our  forefathers  continued  to  flourish  in 
parts  of  Northern  Germany  and  especially  in  the 
Scandinavian  kingdoms.  The  Saxons  were  finally 
converted  to  Christianity  as  late  as  the  beginning  of 
the  ninth  century,  during  the  reign  of  Karl  the  Great 
(Charlemagne),  and  then  only  by  force  of  arms  after 
a  thirty  years'  cruel  war.  This  event  proved  to  be 
the  death-blow  to  the  ancient  religion  in  Germany. 
It  is  true  that  Karl  the  Great  ordered  a  collection  of 
ancient  lays  ("  barbara  et  antiquissima  carmina  ")  to 
be  made,  as  Eginhard  relates,  and  furthermore  it  can 
hardly  be  doubted  that  it  included  songs  on  the  Ger- 
man hero-sagas  ;  yet  it  is  possible  that  it  contained 
only  Prankish  lays,  celebrating  the  deeds  of  Karl's 
ancestors,  as  Professor  Mullenhoff  thinks,*  and  be- 
sides it  must  be  said  that  the  collection  has  never 
been  discovered.  Indeed,  Karl's  son  and  successor 
Ludwig  (Louis  le  de"bonnaire),  who  spoke  Latin  and 
Greek  as  well  as  his  native  tongue,  despised  those 

*  Ziir  Geschichte  der  Nibelunge  Not,  p.  74. 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  51 

songs  which  he  had  been  obliged  to  learn  by  heart 
in  his  youth ;  *  and  through  his  fear  of  the  Church, 
his  monkish  zeal  and  want  of  character  and  interest 
in  national  affairs,  they  were  destroyed.  Yet  in  spite 
of  these  unfavorable  circumstances  many  of  the  early 
traditions  of  our  ancestors  were  preserved,  and  res- 
cued forever  from  the  undeserved  fate  of  oblivion 
by  another  people  of  the  great  Teutonic  race,  —  by 
the  warlike  tribes  of  the  North. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  ninth  century  Iceland, 
the  remotest  corner  of  Europe,  was  discovered  and 
peopled  by  a  number  of  noble  and  high-minded  fam- 
ilies who  had  emigrated  from  Norway.  They  carried 
with  them  the  ancient  heirlooms  of  the  Teutonic 
race  :  its  language,  manners,  religion ;  its  love  for 
song  and  poetry  and  for  the  beauties  and  sublimity 
of  nature ;  its  reverence  for  woman,  its  respect  for  the 
sanctity  of  marriage,  for  the  sacredness  of  hospitality, 
—  ay,  all  those  national  characteristics  which  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Christian  era  had  filled  the  souls  of 
their. Eoman  foes  with  admiration.  Great  as  was 
their  love  of  home,  their  love  of  freedom  was  greater 
still;  and  thus  the  despotism  of  their  king  Harold 
Haarfager  (Fair-hair)  drove  them  forth  from  prosper- 
ous Norway  to  the  barren  shores  of  Iceland.  Uhland 
very  beautifully  remarks  that  "Iceland  —  bristling 
with  snow-clad  mountains ;  treeless  by  reason  of  the 
sharp  winds ;  the  pasture  ground  of  herds  which  are 
devoid  of  the  ornament  of  horns ;  surrounded  by  icy 

*  "  Poetica  carmina  gentilia  quae  in  juventute  didicerat,  respuit, 
nee  legere  nee  audire  uec  docere  voluit."  —  Thegan  de  Oestis  Ludovici. 


52  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

floes  on  which  the  bear  descends  from  Greenland ; 
measuring  time  by  winters  and  nights  instead  of  sum- 
mers and  days  —  does  not  seem  to  have  been  created 
to  be  the  garden  of  poetry.  Yet,  as  there  the  ice- 
crust  often  cracks  and  the  Hecla  casts  forth  its  flames, 
as  from  frozen  swamps  hot  springs  rise  on  high,  so, 
likewise,  poetry  defied  the  ice.  It  is  easily  conceiv- 
able why  the  mighty  and  grave  character  of  Northern 
nature  could  not  but  communicate  itself  to  Northern 
poetry."  As  the  ancestral  freedom  bloomed  in  their 
new  abode,  the  precious  heirloom  of  their  myths  and 
hero-sagas  was  cherished  by  all  And  when  at  last, 
during  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  century,  Chris- 
tianity was  introduced  among  the  free  people  of  this 
Northern  Thule,  the  preachers  of  the  true  religion  did 
not  come  with  the  crucifix  in  one  hand  and  the  sword 
in  the  other ;  nay,  the  conversion  of  Iceland  was  due 
to  native  priests,  who,  while  firmly  believing  the 
gospel,  cherished  the  language  and  customs  of  their 
home  and  preserved  the  traditions  of  their  ancestors. 
Moreover,  Teutonic  paganism  had  then  arrived  at  the 
last  stage  of  its  existence,  and  was  fully  prepared  to 
die  a  natural  death,  —  a  condition  of  things  well 
described  by  Professor  Max  Miiller :  — 

"The  Icelandic  missionaries  had  peculiar  advan- 
tages in  their  relation  to  the  system  of  paganism 
which  they  came  to  combat.  Nowhere  else,  perhaps, 
in  the  whole  history  of  Christianity,  has  the  mission- 
ary been  brought  face  to  face  with  a  race  of  gods  who 
were  believed  by  their  own  worshippers  to  be  doomed 
to  death.  The  missionaries  had  only  to  proclaim  that 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  53 

Balder  was  dead,  that  the  mighty  Odin  and  Thor 
were  dead.  The  people  knew  that  these  gods  were 
to  die,  and  the  message  of  the  one  ever-living  God 
must  have  touched  their  ears  and  hearts  with  comfort 
and  joy." 

The  ancient  lays  and  sagas  were  collected  in 
Iceland,  and  a  rich  national  literature  grew  up, — 
national  in  every  respect,  since  the  old  gods  were  not 
transformed,  as  in  Germany,  into  saints  or  devils. 

But  what  are  the  treasures  preserved  for  the  whole 
Teutonic  race  by  faithful  Iceland  ?  In  the  year  1643 
Brynjolf  Sveinsson,  bishop  of  Skalholt,  discovered  a 
number  of  manuscripts,  and,  supposing  them  to  have 
been  collected  by  Saemund  (born  1056,  died  1133), 
he  called  the  work  "  Edda  Saemundar  hinns  froda," 
i.  e.  "  Edda  of  Saemund  the  Wise."  The  name  "  Edda  " 
signifies  in  Icelandic  "  great-grandmother,"  and  in  the 
figurative  language  of  the  North  that  word  was  some- 
times employed  as  a  term  for  denoting  generally  the 
famous  tales  of  the  past,  especially  as  it  was  the  aged 
mistress  of  the  house  who  customarily  related  the 
history  of  bygone  days  to  her  children  and  grand- 
children. Moreover,  the  name  "  Edda "  had  been 
applied  before,  particularly  to  a  work  supposed  to 
have  been  written  by  Snorre  Sturleson  (born  1178, 
died  1241),  the  author  of  "  Heimskringla,"  the  great 
history  of  the  North.  Snorre's  collection  was  known 
before  Sveinsson's  discovery,  and  is  somewhat  like 
the  Edda  of  Saemund,  but  of  later  origin.  The 
two  Eddas  have  therefore  been  distinguished  from 
each  other  by  the  terms  "  Elder  Edda,"  or  the  Edda 


54  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

of  Saemund,  and  "Younger  Edda,"  or  the  Edda  of 
Snorre  Sturleson.  The  former  is  also  often  called  the 
Poetical  Edda,  as  it  consists  principally,  but  not 
entirely,  of  songs,  while  the  Younger  Edda  forms  a 
collection  of  narratives  in  prose,  and  is  therefore 
frequently  called  the  Prose  Edda.  The  first  part  of  the 
Elder  Edda  relates  to  the  gods  of  the  North,  and 
the  second  contains  the  ancient  hero-songs,  while  the 
Younger  Edda,  of  which  an  excellent  translation  by 
Prof.  E.  B.  Anderson  has  appeared,  is  appropriately 
called  by  the  latter  a  sort  of  commentary  upon  the 
Elder  Edda. 

The  poems  of  the  Edda  containing  the  Nibelung 
story  belong,  in  the  form  in  which  they  have  been 
handed  down  to  us,  mostly  to  the  eighth  century ; 
yet  they  themselves  originated  from  songs  of  a  still 
earlier  period  of  Teutonic  antiquity,  probably  of  the 
sixth  century.  They  do  not  form  a  narrative  epic, 
like  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  but  are  a  series  of  lays, 
independent  of  each  other,  each  of  which  takes  up  a 
particular  subject,  while  upon  the  whole  they  present 
the  Nibelung  tradition  in  a  consistent  and  uniform 
manner.  Unfortunately  there  are  several  pages  want- 
ing in  the  so-called  codex  regius,  the  source  of  all  the 
later  manuscripts  of  the  Elder  Edda.  They  contained 
a  very  important  part  of  Sigurd's  life,  from  his  first 
meeting  with  Brynhild  to  his  death,  and  their  con- 
tents can  only  be  inferred  from  the  Volsunga  Saga,  a 
work  to  be  mentioned  hereafter.  In  this  connection  it 
seems  proper  to  quote  the  words  of  Wilhelm  Grimm  :  * 
*  Heldensage,  p.  4. 


MEDIEVAL   GERMANY.  55 

"  Among  the  documents  for  the  native  saga  I  give 
a  place  to  the  songs  of  the  Edda,  because  I  am 
convinced  that  their  primitive  material  is  German, 
for  they  are  bound  to  Germany  by  the  principal  per- 
sons who  appear  in  them  and  by  the  places  where 
the  events  occur.  The  saga,  when  transplanted,  may 
entirely  alter  or  exchange  names  and  localities ;  but 
when  it  still  recognizes  its  home  abroad,  it  furnishes 
by  that  fact  a  great  proof  of  its  descent."  There 
appears  to  be  no  doubt  that  the  saga-lore  wandered 
from  the  south  to  the  north,  and  thus  it  is  evident 
that  the  early  traditions  of  our  forefathers,  as  trans- 
mitted to  us  by  the  Scandinavian  people,  cannot  be 
free  from  a  local  coloring ;  nor  is  it  always  easy  to 
decide  what  is  the  common  property  of  the  whole 
Teutonic  race,  and  what  belongs  to  the  later  develop- 
ment of  the  Northern  literature  on  the  one  hand  and 
to  that  of  the  German  on  the  other.  Yet  it  is  certain 
that  the  treasure  preserved  for  us  by  Iceland  in  the 
two  Eddas  is  of  paramount  value.  Besides  these  two 
works  there  exist  many  Northern  sagas  which  treat 
of  the  Nibelung  subject,  among  which  the  following 
must  be  mentioned  here. 

The  Volsunga  Saga,  called  so  after  Volsung,  the 
sire  of  Sigurd  (the  German  Siegfried),  the  hero  of  all 
the  Nibelung  stories,  is  partly  a  paraphrase  in  prose 
of  the  songs  of  the  Elder  Edda,  and  was  probably 
collected  during  the  twelfth  century.  This  work  is 
of  great  importance,  as  its  compiler  knew  some  of  the 
songs  of  the  Edda  that  have  been  lost,  and  it  con- 
tains also  an  account  of  Sigurd's  ancestors,  not  to  be 


56  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

found  in  the  Elder  Edda.  The  manuscripts  of  the 
Volsunga  Saga  give  also  the  Ragnar  Lodbrok  Saga, 
which  is  however  of  little  weight  so  far  as  our  object 
is  concerned.  The  later  kings  of  the  house  of  Harold 
Haarfager  claimed  to  trace  their  descent  from  Sigurd 
through  Bagnar  Lodbrok,  whose  wife  Aslaug  was 
supposed  to  be  a  daughter  of  Sigurd  and  Brynhild 
(Brunhild)  ;  and  this  saga  seems  to  owe  its  existence, 
at  least  partly,  to  the  purpose  of  glorifying  the  Nor- 
wegian dynasty. 

The  sagas  mentioned  hereafter  are  interesting  and 
of  some  importance  in  several  instances,  yet  they  are 
of  later  composition,  and  therefore  upon  the  whole  of 
less  value  for  the  history  of  the  early  development  of 
the  Nibelung  stories.  Thus,  whenever  in  the  course 
of  our  remarks  reference  is  made  to  the  Northern 
traditions,  the  term  is  understood  to  include  only  the 
two  Eddas  and  the  Volsunga  Saga,  and  not  the  fol- 
lowing works. 

The  Thidrek  or  Vilkina  Saga,  including  the  Niflunga 
Saga,  collected  towards  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  was  composed  from  the  saga-lore  of  Ger- 
many, at  least  to  a  great  extent,  as  is  repeatedly 
stated  by  its  author.  This  saga  bears  the  impress  of 
later  romantic  tales  in  some  of  its  parts,  especially  in 
the  account  of  Siegfried's  birth,  while  other  portions, 
based  on  old  Saxon  songs  and  tales,  agree  with  the 
Edda  and  Volsunga  Saga;  again  others  are  derived 
from  later  German  lays,  and  agree  in  many  points 
with  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  particularly  with  its  second 
part.  Thus  Kriemhild,  in  this  saga  as  in  the  German 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  57 

epic,  wreaks  vengeance  on  her  brothers  for  the  death 
of  Siegfried,  and  not,  as  in  the  Eddas  and  Volsunga 
Saga,  on  her  second  husband  for  the  death  of  her 
brothers.  The  name  "  Vilkina  "  is  commonly  sup- 
posed to  be  related  to  the  word  "Vilkinus,"  the 
sire  of  the  semi-fabulous  "  Wieland,  the  smith,"  of 
whom  the  Elder  Edda  speaks  in  the  "Volundark- 
viclha."  The  word  "  Vilkinus  "  is  probably  also  con- 
nected with  "  Viking,"  a  common  term  for  the  bold 
seafaring  Norsemen.  The  title  "Thidrek  Saga"  is 
more  appropriate  in  so  far  as  this  collection  in- 
cludes an  account  of  Dietrich  von  Bern.  On  the 
following  pages  reference  to  this  saga  is  made  only 
occasionally,  as  it  will  appear  evident,  from  the 
foregoing  remarks,  that  this  work  can  have  upon 
the  whole  no  very  decisive  or  important  influence 
in  the  comparison  of  the  various  traditions  of  our 
subject. 

The  Nornagestsaga  from  the  fourteenth  century  is 
based  on  the  songs  of  the  Elder  Edda.  The  title  of 
the  saga  is  derived  from  "  Gest,"  a  native  of  the  town 
Graening  in  Denmark.  His  life  depended  on  a  can- 
dle which  a  kind  Norn  had  given  to  him,  and  he  was 
therefore  called  "  Nornagest "  (the  guest  of  the  Norn). 
He  lived  three  hundred  years,  and  related  as  an  eye- 
witness Sigurd's  (Siegfried's)  deeds  and  death  and 
other  incidents  of  the  Nibelung  story  to  King  Olaf 
Tryggvason.  He  was  then  baptized,  lighted  the 
candle  at  the  king's  command,  and  died.  "Norna- 
gest," says  Koppen,  "  is  evidently  the  saga  itself,  the 
pagan  hero-saga,  which,  old,  and  tired  of  life,  expired 


58  THE  GREAT   EPICS  OF 

at  the  court  of  the  strictly  Christian  king  after  the 
torch  of  the  ancient  religion  had  been  extinguished 
by  Christianity."  * 

The  old  Danish  folk-lore  (from  the  fourteenth  to 
the  sixteenth  century)  contains  songs  belonging  to 
the  Nibelung  subject,  either  based  on  the  ancient 
Northern  traditions,  or  related  to  the  second  part  of 
the  Nibelungen  Lied.  But  what  is  most  remarkable 
is  the  fact  that  on  the  lonely  isles  of  Faroe  the  old 
saga  has  so  deeply  penetrated  the  heart  of  the  people 
that  the  songs  of  Siegfried  and  Brunhild  resound  on 
those  barren  shores  even  at  the  present  day.  It  is 
true  that  the  majestic  simplicity  which  forms  such  a 
striking  characteristic  of  the  Elder  Edda  has  almost 
wholly  disappeared  in  the  old  Danish  epics  and  in 
the  songs  of  Faroe,  although  they  exhibit  still  much 
rugged  beauty  and  tender  love-strains.  The  heroes 
excel,  however,  more  in  unnatural  than  in  super- 
natural deeds,  and  also  remind  us  sometimes  of  the 
romantic  character  belonging  to  the  saga-cycle  of 
Charlemagne. 

Before  presenting  the  Nibelung  subject  as  found 
in  the  Northern  traditions,  it  seems  proper  to  refer  to 
Prof.  E.  B.  Anderson's  excellent  work  on  "Norse 
Mythology,"  to  his  vivid  and  enthusiastic  description, 
and  to  his  clear  and  authentic  account  of  the  Asa- 
worship. 

A  knowledge  of  Northern  mythology  is  not  only 
interesting  and  valuable,  —  since  the  ancient  belief 
of  the  Northern  nations  was,  if  not  in  every  par- 

*  Quoted  also  in  Raszmann's  Deutsche  Heldensage,  Vol.  I.  p.  44. 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  59 

ticular,  yet  at  least  in  its  general  nature,  the  same 
as  that  of  the  whole  Teutonic  race,  —  but,  more- 
over, an  acquaintance  with  the  early  religion  of  our 
forefathers  is  well-nigh  indispensable  to  the  stu- 
dent of  the  Nibelung  sagas.  Yet  as  the  subject  of 
Teutonic  mythology  can  be  only  slightly  touched 
in  this  volume,  Professor  Anderson's  book  is  heart- 
ily recommended.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  call 
also-  the  attention  of  those  sufficiently  versed  in 
German  to  the  admirable  works  on  German  My- 
thology by  the  famous  scholars,  J.  Grimm  and  K. 
Simrock. 

A  full  account  of  the  ancestors  and  kindred  of 
Sigurd  (Siegfried)  appears  in  the  Volsunga  Saga ;  the 
Elder  Edda  contains  the  beautiful  songs  of  Helgi 
Hundingsbani  (the  slayer  of  Hunding),  a  half-brother 
of  Sigurd,  but  makes  only  brief  mention  of  his  father 
Sigmund.  It  is  very  probable  that  there  were  also  in 
the  Elder  Edda  originally  songs  glorifying  the  deeds 
of  Sigmund  and  his  son  Sinfiotli  (the  half-brother  of 
Helgi  and  Sigurd),  as  can  be  inferred  from  the  exist- 
ence of  Sinfjotlalok  (the  end  of  Sinfiotli),  a  tale  in 
prose  inserted  by  the  compiler  of  the  Elder  Edda.  It 
is  not  necessary  for  our  purpose  to  describe  the  vari- 
ous adventures  of  the  Volsung  race  previous  to  the 
birth  of  Sigurd,  nor  need  we  mention  the  later  roman- 
tic tales  of  the  Thidrek  Saga  about  his  birth  and 
education,  as  they  seem  to  be  a  mere  imitation  of 
the  well-known  Genovefa  story.  The  following 
sketch  is  founded  on  or  condensed  from  the  two 
Eddas  and  the  Volsunga  Saga,  the  latter  partly  ac- 


60  THE  GREAT   EPICS   OF 

cording  to  the  excellent  translation  by  Magnusson 
and  Morris. 

The  three  gods  —  Odin,  Loki,  and  Hoenir  —  set 
out  to  explore  the  world,  and  came  to  the  cascade  of 
the  dwarf  Andvari,  where  they  found  an  otter  eating  a 
salmon.  Loki,  ever  fond  of  mischief,  cast  a  stone  at 
the  otter  and  killed  it.  The  gods,  well  pleased  with 
their  prey,  flayed  the  otter  and  departed.  In  the 
evening  they  came  to  the  dwelling  of  a  peasant, 
called  Hreidmar,  from  whom  they  asked  a  night's 
lodging.  When  they  showed  him  what  they  had 
captured,  Hreidmar  called  his  sons,  Fafnir  and  Begin, 
and  told  them  that  their  brother  Otter,  who  at  times 
took  the  semblance  of  an  otter,  had  been  slain,  and 
by  whom.  Then  Hreidmar  and  his  sons  laid  hands 
upon  the  gods,  overpowered  them,  and  demanded  as 
ransom  for  their  lives  that  they  should  fill  the  otter- 
skin  with  gold  and  cover  it  over  with  gold.  The  cun- 
ning Loki  was  at  once  despatched  by  Odin  to  the 
home  of  the  swarthy  elves  to  find  the  ransom.  He 
came  to  the  cascade  and  caught  the  dwarf  Andvari, 
who  lived  there  in  the  likeness  of  a  pike.  Andvari 
was  forced  by  Loki  to  give  up  to  him  all  the  treasure 
he  owned,  and  which  was  concealed  in  the  neighbor- 
ing rocks.  Only  one  gold  ring  he  wished  to  keep, 
and  eagerly  besought  Loki  not  to  take  it  away  from 
him,  for  through  its  power  he  could  procure  for  him- 
self another  treasure.  But  Loki  took  also  the  ring 
from  him.  Then  the  dwarf  returned  to  his  rock,  and 
uttered  a  curse  by  which  the  gold,  and  especially  the 
ring,  should  be  the  bane  of  every  man  who  should 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  61 

possess  it  thereafter.  Loki,  well  pleased  with  the  re- 
sult of  his  errand,  said  that  he  would  take  care  to 
bring  the  curse  to  the  ears  of  him  who  was  to  receive 
it.  Then  he  returned  to  Hreidmar's  home  and  showed 
the  gold  to  Odin.  "When  the  latter  saw  the  ring,  he 
kept  it  and  gave  the  rest  of  the  gold  to  Hreidmar. 
The  otter-skin  was  then  filled,  set  on  its  feet,  and 
covered  with  gold.  Thereupon  Hreidmar  came  forth, 
examined  it,  and  found  an  uncovered  hair  on  the 
muzzle.  He  bade  Odin  cover  that  too,  or  the  ran- 
som would  not  be  accepted.  Odin  gave  up  the 
ring,  called  Andvaranaut  (Andvari's  loom),  and  cov- 
ered the  hair  with  it.  Then  only,  Loki  informed 
Hreidmar  of  the  curse  that  was  pronounced  on  the 
gold ;  but  Hreidmar  mocked  at  the  threat,  and  the 
gods  departed.  Hardly  had  they  left,  when  the  curse 
was  fulfilled  on  the  possessor  of  the  ring.  Fafnir  and 
Eegin  demanded  their  share  of  the  treasure  (the 
weregild  for  their  brother)  from  their  father,  but  the 
latter  refused  and  was  therefore  murdered  during  his 
sleep  by  Fafnir.  Then  Eegin  asked  his  brother  to 
give  him  half  of  the  paternal  inheritance  ;  but  Fafnir, 
threatening  to  slay  him,  took  the  shape  of  a  dragon 
and  kept  watch  over  his  treasure. 

As  Raszmann  says,  "  The  story  of  the  primitive  ac- 
quisition of  the  hoard  unveils  the  tragic  background 
of  this  part  of  our  saga ;  the  curse  which  Andvari's 
wrath  laid  upon  the  hoard  hovers  about  it,  as  it  were, 
with  demoniac  power,  until  it  has  been  fulfilled.  Like 
Fafuir  and  Eegin,  the  grandest  figures  of  our  saga, 
who  fill  the  world  with  the  splendor  of  their  glory, 


62  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

are  tempted  to  gain  the  immense  treasure,  and  are 
therefore  irresistibly  involved  in  the  terrible  sway  of 
the  curse.  Their  endeavor  to  obtain  the  hoard  calls 
up  within  their  bosom  the  darkest  powers  of  the 
human  heart,  —  treason,  perjury,  assassination,  and 
dastardly,  guileful  treachery.  Driven  by  the  might 
of  these  powers,  they  rush  on  so  much  the  more  irre- 
sistibly to  meet  the  destruction  in  which  they  are 
involved,  the  more  vividly  the  voices  of  prophecy  and 
warning  place  it  before  their  sdul,  until  at  last,  amidst 
the  most  pathetic  contempt  of  death,  even  those  have 
fallen  who,  alone  beside  the  Aesir,*  know  the  place 
where,  "  in  the  rolling  waves  of  the  Ehine,  the  val- 
ringsf  glitter,"  and  the  gold  has  returned  to  the 
spirits  of  the  deep  whence  it  originally  came.  The 
fatality  attached  to  the  possessor  of  the  hoard  is  still 
known  in  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  yet  the  story  of  its 
original  acquisition  is  but  dimly  remembered."  J 

Eegin  fled,  and,  being  aware  that  he  could  not  over- 
power the  monster,  as  he  was  of  a  dwarfish  stature, 
searched  for  a  mightier  one  than  himself  to  slay  the 
dragon.  He  came  to  King  Hjalprek  in  the  land  of 
the  Franks,§  and  was  charged  by  him  to  bring  up  young 
Sigurd,  who  then  happened  to  live  at  his  court. 

Sigurd  traced  his  descent  from  Odin,  the  chief  of 
the  Teutonic  gods,  through  his  sire  Volsung  and  his 

*  The  asas,  or  gods. 

t  The  rings  of  death  or  strife  ;  cf.  "  valkyr." 
I  Raszmann,  Deutsche  Heldensage,  Vol.  I.  p.  106. 
§  So  in  the  Nornagestsaga.    In  the  Younger  Edda  Hjalprek  is  king 
of  Thiodi ;  in  the  Volsunga  Saga,  of  Denmark,  i.  e.  probably  Jutland. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  63 

father  Sigmund;  his  mother  was  named  Hjordis. 
Sigmund  had  fallen  in  battle  against  his  old  foes,  the 
sons  of  Hunding,  before  Sigurd  was  born,  and  Hjordis 
gave  birth  to  her  son  at  Hjalprek's  court,  whither  she 
had  been  brought  as  a  captive  by  Alf,  the  king's  son. 
The  latter,  at  the  head  of  some  vikings,  had  found  her 
on  the  battle-field  near  Sigmund's  corpse.  Thus  Si- 
gurd was  really  born  a  captive,  but  his  mother  after- 
ward became  Alf's  wife,  and  the  king  had  Sigurd 
brought  up  in  a  manner  befitting  his  descent. 

Begin  told  Sigurd  the  story  of  the  hoard  taken 
from  Andvari,  for  it  was  on  Sigurd  that  he  founded 
his  hope  of  acquiring  the  treasure.  After  obtaining 
the  famous  horse  Grani  (gray)  through  Odin's  help, 
Sigurd  bade  Begin  make  a  sword  for  him.  Begin 
made  one  and  gave  it  into  Sigurd's  hands.  The  lat- 
ter took  it  and  smote  it  into  the  anvil,  and  the  sword 
broke.  Then  Begin  forged  another  sword,  but  it 
broke  like  the  first.  Thereupon  Sigurd  bade  him 
make  a  sword  from  the  broken  pieces  of  the  sword 
called  Gram  (i.  e.  wrath),  which  had  belonged  to  Si- 
gurd's father  and  was  originally  a  gift  of  Odin.  Begin 
made  a  sword,  and  Sigurd  smote  it  into  the  anvil  and 
cleft  it,  but  the  sword  did  not  break.  Afterward  he 
went  to  the  river  Bhine  with  a  lock  of  wool  and 
threw  it  up  against  the  stream,  and  it  fell  asunder 
when  it  met  the  sword.  After  avenging  the  death  of 
his  father  on  his  foes,  Sigurd  went  to  the  Guita-heath 
(glittering  heath),  where  Fafuir  lay.  As  the  monster 
came  down  from  the  cliff  and  crept  along  the  heath 
towards  the  water,  the  earth  shook  all  about  him  and 


64  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

he  snorted  forth  poison  on  all  the  way  before  him. 
Then  Sigurd,  from  a  pit  which  he  had  dug,  thrust  his 
sword  under  the  dragon's  left  shoulder  as  he  crept 
over  it,  so  that  it  sank  in  up  to  the  hilt.  Fafnir,  feel- 
ing that  he  had  received  his  death-wound,  reproached 
Sigurd  with  being  a  bondsman,  referring  to  the  fact 
that  Sigurd  was  born  while  his  mother  was  a  captive. 
Sigurd  replied :  "  Albeit  I  was  a  bondsman,  yet  was 
I  never  bound,  and  thou  hast  found  me  free  enough." 
Fafnir  warned  Sigurd  that  the  gold  and  the  red  rings 
would  be  his  bane  and  that  Eegin  would  betray  him. 
Begin  had  been  away  while  Sigurd  slew  Fafnir ;  but 
when  the  latter  was  dead  he  came  back,  and  after 
some  angry  conversation  with  Sigurd  he  asked  him 
to  roast  Fafnir's  heart  for  him.  While  Sigurd  roasted 
it  on  a  spit,  and  the  juice  came  out  of  the  heart,  he 
touched  it  to  see  whether  it  was  fully  roasted.  In 
doing  so  he  burned  his  finger  and  put  it  into  his 
mouth.  As  soon  as  Fafnir's  heart-blood  touched  his 
tongue  he  understood  the  voice  of  the  birds,  and 
heard  how  some  eagles  chattered  with  each  other  and 
warned  him  of  Regin's  evil  designs.  He  followed 
their  advice  and  struck  off  Eegin's  head,  ate  Fafnir's 
heart,  and  drank  the  blood  of  both.  Then  he  heark- 
ened again  to  what  the  eagles  said.  They  spoke  of 
the  hall  that  stands  high  upon  Hindarfiall,  around 
which  sweep  the  blazing  flames.  There  the  maiden 
sleeps,  since  Odin  stung  her  with  the  sleep-thorn, 
and  no  one  dares  wake  her  against  the  will  of  the 
Norns. 

Sigurd  rode  along  the  trail  of  the  dragon  and  came 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  65 

to  its  dwelling ;  he  found  it  open,  and  the  treasure 
buried  deep  in  the  earth.  There  he  took  also  the 
Helmet  of  Terror  and  the  golden  byrny.  He  laid  the 
gold  in  two  great  chests  and  set  them  on  the  horse 
Grani,  but  the  horse  would  not  stir  until  Sigurd 
mounted  it. 

For  a  long  time  Sigurd  rode  on,  till  he  came  at  last 
to  Hindarfiall,  and  turned  southward  to  the  land  of 
the  Franks.  There  he  perceived  a  great  light  on  a 
mountain,  as  of  burning  fire,  and  the  flames  shone  up 
to  the  sky.  But  as  he  passed  the  flame  wall,  there 
stood  before  him  a  castle  covered  with  shields,  and 
on  the  battlements  hung  a  banner.  Sigurd  went 
into  the  castle,  and  saw  there  a  knight  who  slept 
all  armed.  He  took  off  the  knight's  helmet,  and 
saw  that  it  was  a  woman.  Her  coat  of  mail  was 
so  closely  fastened  on  her  that  it  seemed  to  have 
grown  to  her  flesh.  Then  he  rent  the  corselet  with  his 
sword  Gram,  downward  from  her  neck  and  from  both 
arms.  Thereupon  she  awoke  and  asked,  "  What  has 
rent  my  coat  of  mail  ?  What  has  broken  my  sleep  ? 
Who  has  freed  me  from  my  baneful  bonds  ? "  When 
Sigurd  told  her  his  name,  she  blessed  the  day  that 
had  released  her  from  her  forced  sleep.  "Hail  to 
thee,  day,  and  hail  to  you,  ye  sons  of  day  !  Hail  to 
thee,  night,  and  hail  to  thee,  daughter  of  night ! 
Look  upon  us  with  friendly  eyes,  and  give  us  victory  ! 
Hail  to  you,  ye  gods  and  goddesses,  and  hail  to  thee, 
nourishing  earth !  Give  us  wisdom,  fair  words,  and 
healing  hands  while  we  live ! "  She  called  herself 
Sigdrifa  (giving  victory),  and  was  also  named  Bryn- 


66  •  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

hild,  being  a  maiden  warrior  in  coat  of  mail  (byrny), 
a  valkyrie  whose  duty  was  to  go  to  the  battle-fields 
and  make  choice  of  those  who  were  to  be  slain.  She 
arose  and  said  to  Sigurd,  "  I  once  opposed  the  will  of 
Odin,  and  slew  in  battle  a  king  to  whom  Odin  had 
promised  victory.  In  vengeance  for  that  deed,  Odin 
thrust  the  sleep-thorn  into  me,  and  said  that  I  never 
again  should  have  the  victory  (be  Sigdrifa),  but 
should  be  given  away  in  marriage.  I,  however,  vowed 
that  I  would  never  wed  a  man  who  knew  of  fear. 
Then  Odin  enclosed  me  with  a  wall  of  wavering  fire, 
so  that  only  a  fearless  hero  should  be  able  to  free  me 
from  my  sleep."  Brynhild  taught  Sigurd  much  of 
her  wisdom,  and  Sigurd  exclaimed,  "I  swear  that  I 
will  have  thee,  for  thou  art  as  my  heart  desires." 
Brynhild  replied,  "  Thee  will  I  have,  although  I  had 
to  choose  among  all  men."  And  this  they  pledged 
to  each  other  by  oath. 

Afterwards  when  they  met  again,  Brynhild  said, 
"  It  is  not  fated  that  we  should  abide  together ;  I  am 
a  shield-maiden  and  wear  helmet  on  head  even  as 
the  kings  of  war,  and  them  full  often  I  help,  neither 
is  the  battle  become  loathsome  to  me."  Sigurd 
answered,  "  What  fruit  shall  be  of  our  life  if  we  live 
not  together  ?  Harder  it  is  to  bear  this  pain  than  the 
stroke  of  the  sharp  sword."  Brynhild  replied,  "  I  shall 
gaze  on  the  host  of  the  war-kings,  but  thou  shalt 
wed  Gudrun,  the  daughter  of  Giuki."  Sigurd  an- 
swered, "  I  swear  by  the  gods  that  thee  will  I  have 
for  mine  own,  or  no  woman  else."  And  so  spake 
she.  Sigurd  gave  her  the  fatal  ring  of  the  dwarf 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  67 

Andvari,  by  which  she  too  became  mysteriously  in- 
volved in  the  consequences  of  the  curse  that  rested 
on  the  possessor  of  the  hoard. 

In  this  connection  there  is  a  chapter  in  the  Vol- 
sunga  Saga  which  describes  Sigurd's  appearance  and 
array.  Although  of  later  origin,  a  few  lines  of  the 
chapter  are  given  here  to  show  how  the  Northmen's 
imagination  represented  Sigurd.  "His  hair  was  of 
golden-red  hue,  fair  of  fashion  and  falling  down  in 
great  locks  ; ...  so  keen  were  his  eyes  that  few  durst 
gaze  at  him ;  his  shoulders  were  as  broad  to  look 
on  as  the  shoulders  of  two  ; .  .  .  and  this  is  the  sign 
told  of  his  height,  that  when  he  was  girt  with  the 
sword  Gram  .  .  .  the  dew-shoe  of  the  sword  smote  the 
ears  of  the  standing  corn ;  and  for  all  that  greater  was 
his  strength  than  his  height.  .  .  .  Many-folded  was 
his  shield,  and  blazing  with  red  gold,  with  the  image 
of  a  dragon  drawn  thereon ;  .  .  .  and  with  the  same 
image  were  adorned  helmet  and  saddle  and  coat-armor; 
and  he  was  clad  in  the  golden  byrny,  and  all  his  weap- 
ons were  gold-wrought." 

There  was  a  king  called  Giuki  who  ruled  a  realm 
south  of  the  Ehine ;  he  had  three  sons  renowned  for 
their  warlike  deeds.  They  were  named  Gunnar  (the 
German  Gunther),  Hogni  (the  same  in  name  as  Ha- 
gen),  and  Guttorm.  Their  sister  was  called  Gtidrun 
(the  German  Kriemhild),  and  she  was  the  most  beau- 
tiful of  maidens.  Giuki's  wife,  Gudrun's  mother,  was 
well  skilled  in  the  art  of  sorcery. 

Gudrun  once  said  to  one  of  her  women, "  I  dreamed 
that  I  had  a  fair  hawk  on  my  wrist,  feathered  with 


68  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

feathers  of  gold,  and  naught  was  so  dear  to  me  as 
this  hawk."  The  woman  replied,  "The  man  thou 
shalt  have  will  be  of  the  goodliest,  and  well  shalt 
thou  love  him."  Gudrun  answered,  "  It  grieves  me 
that  I  know  not  who  he  shall  be ;  let  us  go  and  seek 
Brynhild,  for  she  will  know  thereof."  When  they 
came  to  Brynhild,  Gudrun  said,  "  I  dreamed  that  we 
went,  many  of  us,  from  the  bower,  and  we  saw  an 
exceedingly  great  stag  that  far  excelled  all  other  deer, 
and  his  hair  was  golden ;  and  we  were  all  fain  to 
take  the  deer,  but  I  alone  got  him ;  and  he  seemed  to 
me  better  than  all  things  else.  But  thou,  Brynhild, 
didst  shoot  and  slay  my  deer  even  at  my  very  knees  ; 
and  such  grief  was  that  to  me  that  scarce  could  I 
bear  it ;  and  then  afterwards  thou  gavest  me  a  wolf- 
cub,  which  besprinkled  me  with  the  blood  of  my 
brethren."  *  Bryuhild  answered,  "  I  will  explain 
thy  dream,  even  as  things  shall  come  to  pass  here- 
after ;  for  Sigurd  shall  come  to  thee,  even  he  whom  I 
have  chosen  for  my  well-beloved ;  and  thy  mother 
shall  give  him  mead  mingled  with  hurtful  things, 
which  shall  cast  us  all  into  mighty  strife.  Him  shalt 
thou  have,  and  him  shalt  thou  quickly  miss  ;  and  Atli 
the  king  shalt  thou  wed,  and  thy  brothers  shalt  thou 
lose,  and  slay  Atli  in  the  end."  Gudrun  answered, 
"  Grief  and  woe  to  know  that  such  things  shall  be." 
And  then  she  went  home  to  her  father's  house. 

Sigurd  had  left  Brynhild  and  taken  the  hoard  with 
him.  He  came  to  Giuki's  court,  and  was  well  received 
and  held  in  high  esteem  by  all,  for  he  was  the  fore- 

*  Cf.  the  dreams  in  the  Nibelungen  Lied. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  69 

most  hero  of  his  time.  Gudruu's  mother  perc&ived 
how  heartily  Sigurd  loved  Brynhild,  and  how  often  he 
spoke  of  her.  Then  she  fell  to  thinking  how  well  it 
would  be  if  he  should  marry  her  daughter,  for  she  saw 
that  none  could  be  compared  with  him,  and  that  he 
had  more  wealth  than  any  other  man.  So,  one  night 
as  they  sat  drinking,  she  arose,  went  before  Sigurd, 
and  gave  him  the  drinking-horn,  which  contained  a 
draught  of  forgetfulness.  Sigurd  drank,  and  from 
that  time  he  thought  no  more  of  Brynhild ;  but,  see- 
ing how  fair  and  graceful  Gudrun  was,  he  married 
her,  and  Gunnar,  Hogni,  and  Sigurd  swore  brother- 
hood together. 

One  day  Gunnar  was  reminded  by  his  mother  that 
he  was  still  unwedded.  "  Go  and  woo  Brynhild,"  she 
said,  "  and  Sigurd  will  ride  with  thee."  Gunnar  re- 
plied, "Fair  is  she  indeed,  and  fain  would  I  win 
her." 

Then  Sigurd,  Gunnar,  and  Hogni  rode  towards  the 
hall  enclosed  with  wavering  fire.  But  Brynhild  had 
vowed  to  wed  him  only  who  would  ride  the  horse 
Grani  and  pass  through  the  flame  wall,  well  knowing 
that  none  durst  do  it  save  Sigurd  alone.  Gunnar 
spurred  his  steed  against  the  fire,  but  the  horse  shrank 
back.  Sigurd  told  him  to  mount  his  horse  Grani,  but 
the  latter  would  not  stir,  and  so  Gunnar  could  not 
approach  the  flames.  Thereupon  Gunnar  and  Sigurd 
changed  semblance,  and  Sigurd  in  the  likeness  of 
Gunnar  mounted  his  horse  Grani  and  leaped  into  the 
fire.  Then  a  great  roar  arose,  and  the  earth  trembled 
and  the  flames  blazed  up  unto  heaven.  But  as  Sigurd 


70  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

rode  through  the  flame  wall  the  fire  sank,  and  he 
came  to  the  hall  where  Brynhild  was.  Sigurd  said, 
"  I  am  Gunnar,  and  thou  art  awarded  to  me  as  my 
wife,  since  I  have  ridden  through  the  wavering  fire." 
While  Sigurd  stood  on  the  floor  of  the  hall  and  leaned 
on  the  hilt  of  his  sword,  Brynhild,  mindful  of  the  true 
Sigurd  and  of  her  valkyrian  prowess,  answered  sor- 
rowfully, hut  helieved  that  he  had  spoken  the  truth. 
There  Sigurd  abode  three  nights,  and  they  lay  on  one 
couch,  but  he  placed  his  sword  Gram  between  her 
and  him.  Afterwards  he  took  from  her  the  ring  of 
the  dwarf  Andvari  and  rode  back  through  the  flames ; 
then  he  and  Gunnar  changed  semblance  again.  Gun- 
nar was  wedded  to  Brynhild,  and  when  the  wedding- 
feast  was  ended  Sigurd  remembered  his  oath  with 
Brynhild,  yet  the  memory  of  it  seemed  not  to  dis- 
turb him. 

Some  time  after  the  marriage  of  Brynhild  the 
queens  went  together  to  the  river  to  bathe.  Then 
Brynhild  waded  farther  out  into  the  stream,  and  as 
Gudrun  asked  her  why  she  did  so,  Brynhild  an- 
swered, "  Why  shall  I  be  equal  to  thee  in  this  mat- 
ter more  than  in  others  ?  My  husband  is  greater  than 
thine,  and  has  accomplished  many  -  glorious  deeds. 
It  is  he  who  rode  through  the  flaming  fire."  Gudrun 
replied  wrathfully,  "Thou  wouldst  be  wiser  to  be 
silent.  There  is  none  in  this  world  like  unto  my 
husband ;  he  was  thy  first  beloved :  he  slew  Fafnir 
and  rode  through  the  wavering  flames,  he  whom 
thou  didst  take  for  Gunnar  the  king,  and  from  thy 
hand  he  took  the  ring  Andvaranaut.  Thou  mayest 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  71 

here  behold  it."  When  Brynhild  saw  the  ring  she 
waxed  pale  as  if  she  were  dead,  went  home  and  spoke 
no  word  all  the  evening.  On  the  next  morning,  when 
the  queens  sat  in  the  bower,  the  quarrel  was  renewed, 
and  Brynhild  plainly  showed  her  jealousy  of  Gudrun, 
as  the  latter  possessed  Sigurd.  When  Gudrun  told 
her  that  Gunnar  was  a  great  king,  Brynhild  replied, 
"  Sigurd  slew  Fafnir,  and  that  one  deed  is  worth  more 
than  all  the  might  of  Gunnar."  Afterwards  she 
heaped  reproaches  on  Gunnar  because  he  had  deceived 
her,  and  threatened  to  slay  him,  whereupon  Hogni 
put  her  in  fetters,  but  Gunnar  said,  "  Nay,  I  will  not 
that  she  abide  in  fetters."  Brynhild  spoke :  "  Heed 
it  not,  for  never  again  shalt  thou  see  me  glad  in  thy 
hall,  never  drinking,  never  at  the  chess-play,  never 
speaking  words  of  kindness,  never  overlaying  the 
fair  cloths  with  gold,  never  giving  thee  good  counsel 
—  ah,  my  sorrow  of  heart  that  I  might  not  have 
Sigurd  for  myself ! "  Then  she  sat  up  and  smote  her 
needlework  and  rent  it  asunder,  and  bade  her  bower 
doors  be  opened  wide,  that  far  away  the  wailings  of 
her  sorrow  might  be  heard.  On  the  following  day, 
when  Sigurd  came  home  from  hunting,  Gudrun  asked 
him  with  tears  to  try  to  abate  Brynhild's  fury.  "  Give 
her  gold,"  she  said,  "  and  smother  her  grief  and  anger 
therewith." 

When  Sigurd  came  to  Brynhild  and  assured  her 
that  a  king  like  Gunnar  was  worthy  of  her  love,  her 
rage  became  greater  at  these  words,  as  they  were 
spoken  by  the  man  whom  she  loved.  She  said,  "  This 
is  the  sorest  sorrow  to  me,  that  the  bitter  sword  is  not 


72  THE   GREAT   EPICS  OF 

reddened  in  thy  blood."  But  afterwards  Sigurd 
exclaimed,  "I  loved  thee  better  than  myself,  although 
I  fell  into  the  wiles  whence  our  lives  may  not  escape ; 
for  whensoever  my  own  heart  and  mind  availed  me, 
then  I  sorrowed  sore  that  thou  wert  not  my  wife." 
Brynhild  replied,  "  Too  late  thou  tellest  me  that  my 
grief  grieveth  thee.  ...  I  swore  an  oath  to  wed  the 
man  who  should  ride  through  the  flaming  fire,  and 
that  oath  will  I  hold,  or  die."  Sigurd  said,  "  Bather 
than  thou  shouldst  die  I  will  wed  thee  and  put  away 
Gudrun."  But  Brynhild  answered,  "  I  will  not  have 
thee  nor  any  other."  Thereupon  Sigurd  left  her,  and 
when  Gunnar  came  to  her  she  spoke :  "  I  will  not 
live,  for  Sigurd  has  betrayed  me,  and  thee  no  less ;  and 
this  shall  be  Sigurd's  death  or  thy  death  or  my  death, 
for  now  he  has  told  Gudrun  all,  and  she  is  reviling 
me  even  now."  Gunnar  grew  angry,  and  hesitated 
long  as  to  what  he  would  do.  But  at  last  his  love 
for  Brynhild,  together  with  his  desire  to  obtain  the 
hoard,  made  him  forget  his  former  friendship  with 
Sigurd,  and  he  agreed  to  Brynhild's  demand,  although 
Hogni  spoke  against  the  deed  and  foretold  the  great 
sorrow  that  would  follow.  Guttorm,  their  step- 
brother, who  had  not  sworn  the  oath  of  brotherhood, 
was  urged  to  commit  the  murder,  and  they  promised 
him  great  rewards  and  honors.  Guttorm,  excited  by 
magic  drinks,  went  to  Sigurd  as  he  lay  upon  his  bed, 
yet  he  durst  not  do  aught  against  him,  but  shrank 
back ;  and  even  so  he  fared  a  second  time,  for  so  bright 
and  eager  were  the  eyes  of  Sigurd  that  few  durst  look 
upon  him.  But  the  third  time  he  went  in,  and  there 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  73 

lay  Sigurd  asleep ;  then  Guttorm  drew  his  sword  and 
thrust  Sigurd  through  in  such  wise  that  the  sword- 
point  smote  into  the  bed  beneath  him.  Sigurd  awoke 
with  that  wound,  and  Guttorm  drew  back  unto  the 
door.  Sigurd  seized  the  sword  Gram  and  cast  it 
after  him,  and  it  smote  him  on  the  back  and  struck 
him  asunder  in  the  midst,  so  that  his  feet  fell  one 
way  and  his  head  and  hands  back  into  the  chamber. 

Gudrun  had  been  asleep  on  Sigurd's  breast,  but 
she  awoke,  moaned,  and  clasped  her  hands  in  de- 
spair. Sigurd  told  her :  "  Behold,  this  has  Brynhild 
brought  to  pass,  even  she  who  loves  me  before  all 
men ;  but  this  may  I  swear,  that  never  have  I  wrought 
ill  to  Gunnar,  but  rather  have  ever  held  fast  to  my 
oath  with  him,  nor  wras  I  ever  too  much  a  friend  of 
his  wife.  And  now,  if  I  had  been  forewarned  and 
had  been  afoot  with  my  weapons,  then  should  many 
a  man  have  lost  his  life  ere  I  had  fallen,  and  all 
those  brethren  should  have  been  slain,  and  a  harder 
work  would  the  slaying  of  me  have  been  than  the 
slaying  of  the  mightiest  bull  or  the  mightiest  boar 
in  the  wildwood." 

When  Brynhild  heard  Gudrun's  loud  bewailings 
she  laughed  heartily ;  yet  soon  after  she  began  to 
weep  over  the  very  deed  to  which  she  had  urged  her 
husband,  and  foretold  the  woe  that  was  to  follow 
Sigurd's  murder.  Then  she  thrust  a  sword  through 
her  side  and  sank  upon  the  pillows  of  her  couch, 
while  she  asked  Gunnar  as  a  last  boon  to  have  her 
borne  to  Sigurd's  funeral  pyre  and  a  drawn  sword 
placed  between  her  and  him,  as  once  in  the  days 


74  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

of  yore.    There  she  was  burned  by  the  side  of  her 
first  and  only  love. 

Gudrun  bewailed  Sigurd's  death  for  a  long  time, 
while  Atli,  Brynhild's  brother,  was  wroth  with  Gun- 
nar  and  Hbgni,  and  accused  them  of  having  been  the 
cause  of  Brynhild's  death.  Yet  they  became  rec- 
onciled, and  Gudrun  was  forced  to  marry  Atli,  but 
she  loved  him  not.  A  drink  of  forgetfulness  had 
been  given  to  her,  and  she  remembered  no  more  her 
brother's  guilt  against  her.  At  Atli's  court  dwelt 
King  Tj6drek  (Dietrich  von  Bern),  who  had  lost  most 
of  his  vassals.  Atli  wished  to  get  possession  of  the 
hoard  which  had  been  seized  by  Gunnar  and  Hogni 
after  Sigurd's  death,  and  he  therefore  treacherously 
invited  his  brothers-in-law  to  a  great  banquet  in  his 
castle.  In  vain  Gudrun  endeavored  to  warn  her 
brothers  of  Atli's  designs  ;  her  attempt  was  frustrated 
by  the  perfidy  of  the  messenger  who  was  sent  to  them, 
who  changed  the  Runic  message  in  such  wise  that  she 
seemed  to  ask  them  to  come  and  see  Atli.  Gunnar 
gave  his  word  to  accept  Atli's  invitation,  and  he  and 
Hogni  departed  with  a  small  retinue,  in  spite  of  the 
ill-boding  dreams  of  their  wives,*  and  came  to  Atli's 
land.  There  they  beheld  the  king's  army,  and  heard  a 
huge  uproar  and  the  clatter  of  weapons.  The  castle 
gates  were  shut,  but  Hogni  broke  them  open.  Atli 
said,  "  Deliver  unto  me  that  plenteous  gold  which  is 
mine  of  right,  even  the  wealth  which  Sigurd  once 
owned  and  which  is  now  Gudrun's  of  right."  At 
Gunnar's  refusal  to  comply  with  Atli's  demand  the 
*  p.  95. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  75 

two  parties  fell  to  hard  fighting,  and  Gudrun  took  up 
arms  and  fought  bravely  by  the  side  of  her  brothers 
against  her  husband's  men.  After  an  heroic  struggle 
all  the  champions  of  Gunnar  and  Hogni  had  fallen, 
but  they  two  alone  stood  still  undismayed  amidst 
their  foes.  At  last  they  were  overpowered  by  the 
great  host  of  warriors  that  fell  on  them,  and  were  cast 
into  fetters.  Hogni's  heart  was  cut  out  of  his  body, 
but  he  laughed  at  the  torture ;  and  when  the  heart 
was  shown  to  Gunnar  the  latter  said  to  Atli,  "  Now 
I  alone  know  where  the  gold  is,  nor  shall  Hogni  be 
able  to  tell  thereof.  In  the  rolling  waves  of  the  Khine 
the  valrings  *  glitter  more  than  the  gold  shines  on  the 
hands  of  the  Huns."  Then  Gunnar  was  thrown  into 
a  serpent's  den,  wherein  were  many  snakes,  and  his 
hands  were  fast  bound  ;  but  Gudrun  sent  him  a  harp, 
and  he  played  with  his  toes  in  such  a  wonderful  wise 
that  all  the  snakes  fell  asleep  save  one  adder  only, 
great  and  evil  of  aspect,  that  crept  unto  him  and 
thrust  its  sting  into  him  until  it  smote  his  heart,  and 
thus  he  died. 

Gudrun  did  not  forget  her  woe,  but  brooded  over 
it  until  she  accomplished  her  thoughts  of  revenge. 
While  a  funeral  feast  was  being  held  for  the  slain  he- 
roes of  both  parties,  Gudrun  killed  the  two  sons  she 
had  by  Atli,  and  mingled  their  blood  with  the  king's 
wine ;  afterwards  she  murdered  Atli  with  the  help  of 
Hogni's  son,  called  Niblung;  and  later  still  she  set 
fire  to  the  hall,  to  wreak  vengeance  even  on  Atli's 
champions  who  had  aided  in  the  destruction  of  her 
kindred. 

*  p.  62. 


76  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

The  later  destiny  of  Gudrun,  her  marriage  with 
Jonakur,  and  the  fate  of  Swanhild,  her  daughter  by 
Sigurd,  have  little  bearing  on  our  subject,  and  will 
therefore  not  be  considered  here. 

II.  Besides  the  Northern  traditions,  of  which  a 
sketch  has  just  been  given,  there  is  a  German  work 
that  claims  our  attention  now,  as  it  also  throws 
some  light  on  the  Nibelung  subject.  It  is  "  The  Lay  of 
Siegfried  with  the  Horny  Skin"  (Das  Lied  vom  Hiir- 
nen  Seyfried),  which  from  its  versifi cation  belongs  to 
the  thirteenth  century,  and  from  its  language  to  the  fif- 
teenth. This  work,  preserved  only  in  printed  editions 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  is  an  agglomeration  of  sev- 
eral ancient  songs  which  originally  did  not  belong 
together,  and  it  contains  therefore  some  contradictions 
and  also  different  versions  of  the  same  event,  as,  for 
instance,  of  the  combat  with  the  dragon.  At  the 
same  time  it  still  shows  in  its  present  shape  many 
traces  of  great  antiquity.  The  poem  is  divided  into 
three  parts,  of  which  the  second  is  the  longest  and 
most  important. 

The  first  part  begins  by  describing  young  Siegfried 
as  the  impetuous  and  unmanageable  youth  who  is  so 
well  known  from  the  later  popular  German  tales. 
At  the  advice  of  his  councillors,  King  Sigmund 
let  'his  son  have  his  will,  and  allowed  him  to  go 
forth  in  quest  of  adventures.  Siegfried  came  to  a 
smithy,*  where  he  showed  his  great  strength  by  break- 
ing the  iron  asunder  and  striking  the  anvil  into  the 

*  The  story  of  Siegfried  and  the  smith  resembles  the  account  in 
the  Thidrek  Saga. 


MEDIEVAL    GERMANY.  77 

ground.  As  he  did  altogether  as  he  pleased,  and  beat 
the  smith  and  his  men,  the  former  sent  him  into  the 
forest  for  coal,  hoping  that  he  might  be  killed  there 
by  a  dragon  who  lived  near  a  linden-tree.  But  Sieg- 
fried slew  the  monster,  came  then  into  a  wilderness 
where  many  snakes  and  dragons  lay,  cast  trees  on 
them,  and  set  the  trees  on  fire.  The  horny  skin  of 
the  monsters  melted  with  the  heat,  and  flowed  away 
like  a  brook.  Siegfried  dipped  his  finger  into  it,  and 
,when  it  became  cold  it  was  horny.  Then  he  rubbed 
his  whole  body  with  it  and  thus  became  invulnerable, 
except  at  a  spot  between  the  shoulders.  Afterwards 
he  went  to  Worms,  and  served  the  king  in  order  that 
the  beautiful  Princess  Kriemhild  might  be  given  to 
him  in  marriage. 

Siegfried  went  away,  and  after  some  time  found 
the  Nibelung  hoard,  which  the  dwarf  Nibelung  had 
left  to  his  three  young  sons ;  and  on  account  of  the 
hoard  there  arose  afterwards  a  most  lamentable  slaugh- 
ter among  the  Huns,  in  which  all  were  slain  save 
Dietrich  von  Bern  and  Hildebrand. 

The  second  part  of  our  poem  takes  us  to  Worms, 
where  King  Gibich  had  three  sons,  named  Gunther, 
Gernot,  and  Hagen.  Once,  as  Kriemhild,  their  sister, 
stood  near  the  castle  window,  a  fiery  dragon  came  fly- 
ing through  the  air  and  carried  her  off.  At  Easter  he 
became  a  man,  for  by  the  curse  of  a  woman  he  had 
been  transformed  from  a  beautiful  youth  into  a  dragon; 
after  five  years  he  was  to  be  changed  again  into  his 
original  human  shape,  and  then  he  meant  to  marry 
Kriemhild.  The  dragon  had  borne  the  maiden  to 


78  THE   GEE  AT  EPICS  OF 

a  high  rock  in  the  mountains,  and  tenderly  cared  for 
her,  while  her  parents  were  in  despair. 

Here  begins,  as  it  were,  a  new  representation  of  the 
saga,  according  to  which  Siegfried  does  not  know  his 
parents,  and  was  sent  into  a  dark  forest  where  he  was 
brought  up  by  a  master  (smith).  As  he  went  out 
once  into  the  wood  to  hunt,  he  happened  to  meet  the 
track  of  the  dragon  and  followed  it  for  several  days, 
until  at  last  he  arrived  at  the  Drachenstein,  yet  with- 
out being  aware  of  it,  for  he  only  thought  how  he 
could  find  his  way  out  of  the  thick  and  gloomy  forest. 
At  once  he  perceived  a  dwarf  with  a  glittering  crown 
on  his  head,  who  rode  on  a  coal-black  steed.  The 
dwarf,  whose  name  was  Eugel,  told  Siegfried,  at  his 
request,  who  his  parents  were,  and  also  that  a  dragon 
dwelt  with  the  captive  princess  in  the  rock.  At 
the  same  time  he  warned  him  to  leave  the  spot  at 
once.  Yet  Siegfried  forced  the  dwarf  to  aid  him  in 
freeing  Kriemhild,  whereupon  Eugel  informed  him 
that  a  giant,  called  Kuperan,  guarded  the  entrance  to 
the  Drachenstein.  A  fierce  struggle  took  place  be- 
tween Siegfried  and  the  giant,  who,  like  all  giants, 
bore  a  pole  of  steel,  four-edged  and  as  sharp  as  a 
knife.  The  giant  rushed  on  the  little  boy,  as  he 
called  him,  but  Siegfried  jumped  nimbly  backward 
and  forward  the  length  of  five  fathoms  at  a  bound. 
At  last  he  vanquished  Kuperan,  who  promised  to 
guide  him  to  the  dragon's  dwelling  and  procure  the 
maiden  for  him.  Yet,  faithless  like  all  giants,  Ku- 
peran treacherously  attacked  Siegfried  again,  and  dealt 
him  such  a  blow  that  the  blood  ran  from  his  mouth 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  79 

and  nose,  and  he  was  only  rescued  by  Eugel,  who 
threw  the  Nebelkappe,  or  the  magic  cap  of  darkness 
(mist),  which  rendered  one  invisible,  over  him.  When 
Siegfried  had  recovered,  he  threw  away  the  Nebel- 
kappe, and  severely  wounded  the  giant,  but  did  not 
kill  him,  as  Kuperan  alone  knew  the  way  to  the 
maiden's  abode.  Then  he  followed  the  giant  to  a 
steep  spot,  where  he  perceived  Kriemhild  in  tears, 
and  also  found  the  sword  with  which  alone  the 
dragon  could  be  vanquished;  but  while  he  contem- 
plated the  sword,  the  giant  again  treacherously  as- 
sailed and  wounded  him.  Thereupon  a  struggle  for 
life  and  death  ensued,  in  which  Siegfried  tore  open 
the  giant's  wounds  and  cast  him  down  from  the  rock, 
so  that  he  was  dashed  to  pieces,  while  the  young 
maiden  laughed  aloud.  But  hardly  had  Siegfried  sa- 
luted and  comforted  the  royal  lady,  when  a  roar  was 
heard,  as  if  the  whole  mountain  were  hurled  down,  and 
the  dragon  appeared  in  the  air,  casting  forth  fiery 
flames,  and  rushed  against  the  rock,  which  he  caused 
to  tremble.  Siegfried  drew  the  sword  which  Kuperan 
had  shown  to  him,  and  attacked  the  dragon,  while  the 
latter  vomited  fire  so  that  the  rock  became  glowing 
hot.  The  dwarfs  feared  that  the  mountain  might  fall 
and  bury  them,  and  thereupon  two  sons  of  King  Nibe- 
lung,  who  were  the  brothers  of  Eugel,  had  their 
father's  treasure  brought  out  of  the  bowels  of  the 
mountain,  and  enclosed  in  a  cave  under  the  Drach- 
enstein.  After  a  long  and  frightful  contest,  the  horny 
skin  of  the  dragon  became  soft  from  the  blows  that 
Siegfried  dealt  it  with  Kuperan's  sword,  and  at  the 


80 

same  time  the  heat  that  issued  from  the  dragon's  jaws 
melted  its  skin  so  that  at  last  Siegfried  hewed  the 
monster  in  pieces,  and  thus  the  maiden  was  rescued. 
The  royal  brothers  informed  Siegfried  that  their  father 
Nibelung  had  died  of  grief  because  Kuperan  had  van- 
quished him  and  subdued  his  realm.  Eugel  also  dis- 
closed, at  Siegfried's  request,  the  latter's  future  destiny 
from  the  stars,  and  told  him  that  he  would  live  only 
eight  years  longer,  but  his  death  would  be  revenged 
by  his  wife.  Then  Eugel  thanked  him  for  having 
delivered  him  and  his  people  from  the  power  and 
tyranny  of  the  giant  Kuperan.  Siegfried  seized  the 
hoard,  believing  that  it  had  belonged  to  the  dragon  or 
to  Kuperan,  set  it  on  his  horse,  and  departed  with 
Kriemhild.  Afterwards,  when  he  came  to  the  Ehine, 
he  thought  of  his  predicted  doom  and  of  the  conse- 
quent uselessness  of  the  treasure,  and  therefore  cast 
the  latter  into  the  river. 

In  the  third  part,  which  contains  only  a  few  stan- 
zas, the  poet  remarks  that  envy  arose  in  the  hearts  of 
the  three  royal  brothers  at  Worms  against  Siegfried, 
as  he  was  the  most  renowned  hero  of  his  time,  and 
that  Hagen  stabbed  him  between  the  shoulders,  near 
a  well  in  the  Odenwald.  Finally  the  poet  says  that 
whoever  wishes  to  hear  more  particularly  of  the 
events  that  passed  during  the  eight  years  *  may  read 
"  Seyfrides  Hochzeit "  (Siegfried's  Marriage).  The  lat- 
ter poem  has  been  lost,  but  seems  to  have  treated  of 
the  sagas  which  are  contained  in  the  first  part  of  our 
Nibelungen  Lied. 

*  Cf.  Eugel's  prophecy. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  81 

Having  glanced  at  the  works  already  outlined  for 
the  purpose  of  throwing  light  on  the  greatest  poem 
of  Mediaeval  Germany,  let  us  now  consider  the  rela- 
tions that  exist  between  the  Northern  and  German 
traditions  of  our  saga. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  THE  NORTHERN  AND  THE 
GERMAN  NIBELUNG  TRADITIONS,  AND  THE  INFLU- 
ENCE OF  HISTORY  ON  THE  SAGA. 

The  Nibelungs  and  the  NiHbdung  Land. 

THE  word  "  Nibelung,"  or  in  the  Icelandic  language 
"  Niflung,"  is  related  to  "  Niflheim,"  the  home  of  mist 
(9?ebel)  and  gloom,  the  realm  of  cold  and  darkness. 
In  the  first  part  of  our  Nibelungen  Lied,  the  name 
belongs  to  those  who  appear  *  to  be  the  original  pos- 
sessors of  the  hoard, — to  the  people  slain  or  con- 
quered by  Siegfried,!  — and  then  to  the  latter  himself, 
together  with  the  vanquished  Nibelungs,  while  the 
Burgundians  are  called  Mbelungs  only  after  they 
have  obtained  the  hoard.  Thus  it  seems  evident  that 
the  name  "  Mbelung  "  is  attached  to  the  hoard,  and 
through  it  to  its  possessors. 

In  regard  to  the  Nibelung  land,  Carlyle  very  poet- 
ically says  :  "  Far  beyond  the  firm  horizon,  that  won- 
der-bearing region  swims  on  the  infinite  waters,  at 
most  discerned  as  a  faint  streak  hanging  in  the  blue 

*  P.  5.  t  p.  6. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  83 

depths,  uncertain,  whether  island  or  cloud."  We  can- 
not be  fully  satisfied  with  this  beautiful  description, 
but  must  see  what  is  meant  in  our  sagas  and  poems. 
According  to  Raszmann,  the  home  of  the  swarthy 
elves  (Svartalfaheim  or  (Scfywarjalbenfyeim),  where  in 
the  Younger  Edda  Loki  took  the  gold  from  Andvari, 
must  be  identical  with  the  region  in  Norway  where, 
according  to  the  Gferman  epic,*  the  Nibelung  fortresses 
are  situated.  Raszmann  says  rightly  that  Norway, 
i.  e.  the  north-way,  denoted  the  road  leading  to  Nifl- 
heim,  which  was  supposed  to  lie  at  the  extreme  north. 
For  when  Hermod  went  to  Hel,  to  offer  her  a  ransom 
if  she  would  allow  Balder  to  return  to  Asgard,  he 
rode  nine  nights  through  deep  and  dark  valleys,  and 
did  not  see  light  until  he  came  to  the  stream  Gjol, 
the  bridge  over  which  was  thatched  with  shining 
gold;  and  he  was  directed  to  ride  downward  and 
northward  to  reach  Niflhel,  or  the  realm  of  death. 
Simrock  correctly  conjectured  that  Niflhel  is  Svartal- 
faheim, and  on  the  other  hand  no  northern  country 
can  convey  a  better  idea  of  the  home  of  the  swarthy 
elves  than  Norway  with  its  deep  rocky  dales,  f 

The  Acquisition  of  the  Hoard  and  the  Slaying  of  the 
Dragon. 

When  we  compare  the  different  accounts  of  Sieg- 
fried's acquisition  of  the  hoard,  we  find  that  they 
agree  in  many  points.  Fafnir  and  Regin  quarrel 
about  their  paternal  inheritance;  so  do  Schilbung 
and  Nibelung.  The  two  former  and  the  latter  are 

*  p.  15.         t  Raszmann,  Deutsche.  Heldensage,  Vol.  I. 


84  THE   GREAT   EPICS  OF 

slain  by  Siegfried.  The  deed  is  done  with  Siegfried's 
sword,  called  Gram  in  the  Northern  traditions,  and 
Balmung  in  the  German  saga.  Schilbung  and  Nibe- 
lung  give  their  father's  sword  to  Siegfried,  so  that  he 
may  divide  the  hoard  between  them;  on  the  other 
hand,  Regin  forges  Sigmund's  sword  anew,  in  order 
that  Siegfried  may  slay  Fafnir  and  procure  him  the 
treasure. 

The  lay  of  Siegfried  seems  alone,  among  the  German 
traditions,  to  have  preserved  the  idea  that  the  dragon 
was  originally  a  human  being,  although  the  trans- 
formation there  is  not  a  voluntary  one,  as  in  the  case 
of  Fafnir,  but  is  caused  by  the  curse  of  a  woman.* 
As  Fafnir  slew  his  father  Hreidmar  to  obtain  the 
hoard,  the  giant  Kuperan  f  brought  about  the  death 
of  old  King  Nibelung,  since  the  latter  died  from  grief 
at  seeing  himself  and  his  people  vanquished  and  sub- 
dued by  Kuperan.  Thus  in  this  respect  Hreidmar  is 
identical  with  old  King  Nibelung,  who  is  only  alluded 
to  in  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  but  distinctly  mentioned 
in  the  lay  of  Siegfried,  while  Fafnir  is  identical  with 
Kuperan  and  the  dragon ;  Kuperan  also  possessed  the 
king's  sword  Balmung.  That  in  the  lay  of  Siegfried 
two  beings,  the  dragon  and  Kuperan,  correspond  to 
Fafnir,  may  be  explained,  as  Raszmann  thinks,  by  the 
general  formation  of  the  saga  in  that  poem,  and  by 
the  fact  that  giants  were  supposed  to  guard  treasures, 

*  Yet  as  transformations  of  human  beings  into  dragons  occur 
in  many  sagas,  it  is  not  absolutely  certain  whether  the  lay  of  Sieg- 
fried has  preserved  here  an  ancient  characteristic  of  the  Nibelung 
story,, or  has  been  influenced  by  later  traditions  of  a  similar  nature. 

t  p.  80. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  85 

as  in  the  Nibelungen  Lied  Siegfried  slays  twelve 
giants  in  the  service  of  Nibelung  and  Schilbung,*  and 
again  a  giant  appears  as  keeper  of  the  hoard  and  is 
overcome  by  Siegfried.f  The  dwarfs  possess  a  treas- 
ure, in  the  lay  of  Siegfried,  yet  they  are  subject  to 
the  giant. 

In  the  Northern  traditions  Hreidmar  and  Fafnir 
are  'not  the  first  possessors  of  the  hoard ;  and  we  can 
presume  that  this  may  also  have  been  the  case  in 
regard  to  old  King  Nibelung  and  his  sons,  especially 
as  the  beginning  of  the  fatal  consequences  of  owning 
the  treasure  appears  already  in  the  fact  that  Nibelung 
and  Schilbung  are  slain  by  Siegfried  on  account  of 
the  hoard,  and  the  latter  comes  into  the  possession 
of  Siegfried.  Thus  old  King  Nibelung  may  have  ob- 
tained the  hoard  in  the  same  manner  as  Hreidmar. 

In  the  Nibelungen  Lied  Siegfried  slays  twelve 
giants  and  overcomes  the  dwarf  Alberich ;  in  the 
Northern  accounts  he  kills  Fafnir,  primitively  a  giant, 
and  Regin,  a  dwarf;  while  in  the  song  of  Siegfried 
he  slays  the  giant  Kuperan  after  he  had  forced  the 
dwarf  Eugel  to  submission  to  his  will.  Yet  giants 
and  dwarfs  are  not  fundamentally  different  beings  in 
Teutonic  mythology,  but  are  of  a  kindred  nature ; 
thus  Regin  is  once  called  a  giant.  On  the  other  hand, 
Germanic  saga-lore  abounds  in  tales  ascribing  pre- 
eminently to  dwarfs  the  gathering  of  treasures  and 
the  making  of  costly  and  powerful  weapons ;  for  in- 
stance, the  dwarf  Andvari  possesses  the  hoard,  and 
Regin  is  well  skilled  in  the  craft  of  a  smith ;  therefore 
*  p.  5.  t  p.  12. 


86  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

it  is  not  surprising  that  the  Nibelungs  appear  in  the 
German  sagas,  and  particularly  in  the  song  of  Sieg- 
fried, at  times  as  dwarfs.  The  fact  that  in  the  latter 
poem  Siegfried  strikes  the  anvil  into  the  ground  to 
show  his  strength  and  unmanageable  disposition  re- 
minds us  of  his  smiting  the  sword  which  Begin  at 
first  made  for  him  into  the  anvil  so  that  the  sword 
broke  asunder.  There  is  also  a  striking  similarity 
between  the  smith,  who  in  the  lay  of  Siegfried  sends 
the  latter  to  the  dragon  in  the  forest,  and  Eegin, 
Fafnir's  brother,  although  neither  smith  nor  dragon 
is  mentioned  by  his  name,  nor  is  it  said  that  they 
are  brothers.  Eugel  with  the  Tarnkappe  and  his 
dwarfs  correspond  to  Alberich  and  the  Nibelung 
knights,  as  they  remain  faithful  to  Siegfried  after  he 
had  overcome  them.  It  must  also  be  mentioned  that 
the  hoard  has  not  assumed  in  the  lay  of  Siegfried 
such  enormous  dimensions  as  in  the  Nibelungen  Lied, 
where  a  hundred  wagons  did  not  suffice  to  carry  it 
away,  but,  on  the  contrary,  Siegfried  there  sets  it  on 
his  horse,  as  he  does  in  the  Northern  traditions. 

We  have  seen  that  the  lay  of  Siegfried  shows  some 
traces  of  great  antiquity  that  throw  light  on  our  sub- 
ject, yet  on  the  other  hand  it  must  be  admitted  that 
this  poem  exhibits  also  the  influence  of  later  songs 
and  sagas,  and  contains  moreover,  as  has  been  indi- 
cated above,  many  stanzas  which  cannot  originally 
have  belonged  together  in  the  order  in  which  they 
are  given,  since  they  imply  a  contradiction  or  are 
otherwise  unintelligible.  Thus  Siegfried,  towards  the 
end  of  the  second  part  of  the  poem,  casts  the  hoard 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  87 

into  the  Ehine  on  account  of  Eugel's  predictions, 
while  the  general  course  of  the  saga  demands  that 
the  hoard  should  be  thrown  into  the  river  by  the  royal 
brothers  of  Worms  or  their  dependants,  and  not  by 
Siegfried  ;  moreover,  in  the  first  part  of  our  poem  it 
is  related  that  a  most  lamentable  slaughter  took  place 
among  the  Huns  on  account  of  the  Nibelung  treasure, 
and  thus  the  lay  of  Siegfried  is  here  in  contradiction 
with  itself.  Again  Siegfried,  in  the  first  part  of  the 
lay,*  slew  a  dragon  and  his  skin  became  horny  and 
invulnerable,  yet  he  is  wounded  by  Kuperanf  and 
only  saved  by  Eugel,  who  threw  the  Tarnkappe  over 
him.  The  idea  that  the  faithlessness  of  the  smith 
(Kegin)  was  the  cause  of  the  slaying  of  the  dragon  is 
forgotten  in  our  lay,  and  the  dragon  who  kept  the 
maiden  imprisoned  and  the  one  to  whom  Siegfried 
was  sent  by  the  smith  must  primitively  have  been 
the  same. 

The  ring  Andvaranaut  J  by  which  the  gold  could 
ever  be  renewed  is  identical  with  the  wishing-rod  in 
the  Nibelungen  lied,  §  in  so  far  as  by  the  latter  the 
treasure  could  always  be  replaced.  The  ring  is  as 
fatal  at  the  quarrel  of  the  queens  in  the  German  epic 
as  Andvaranaut  in  the  Northern  sagas.  To  Siegfried's 
power  of  changing  semblance  ||  corresponds  the  Tarn- 
kappe. 

In  regard  to  the  filling  of  the  otter-skin  with  gold 
and  covering  it  over  with  gold,^"  it  must  be  noticed 

*  p.  77.  §  p.  6. 

t  p.  78.  II  p.  69. 

}  p.  61.  IT  p.  60. 


88  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

that  the  most  striking  characteristic  of  the  earliest 
Teutonic  laws  is  the  payment  of  money  (or  the 
value  of  money)  for  crimes  and  offences,  a  fact  which 
appears  pre-eminently  in  the  old  Anglo-Saxon  laws. 
It  is  also  interesting  to  state  that  in  ^  the  Northern 
countries  the  skin  of  a  stolen  ox  had  to  be  filled  with 
flour  and  given  to  the  injured  party;  while  in  old 
Saxony  a  dog  that  had  been  killed  maliciously  was 
hung  up  by  its  tail  so  that  its  nose  touched  the 
ground ;  then  red  wheat  was  poured-  over  the  dead 
dog  until  the  latter  was  fully  covered  with  it.  Dr. 
E.  Koch,  who  mentions  these  facts  (to  be  found  in 
Grimm's  "  Eechtsalterhlimer  "),  remarks  that  the  saga 
combined  the  idea  of  filling  and  covering  over,  and 
changed  the  red  wheat  into  red  gold.* 

Yet  while  there  are  many  points  in  which  the 
Northern  and  German  traditions  evidently  agree,  or 
at  least  can  be  reasonably  supposed  to  have  prim- 
itively agreed,  there  are  other  features  which  seem  to 
show  no  resemblance.  Thus  the  acquisition  of  the 
hoard  is  not  represented  in  the  Nibelungen  Lied  as 
a  consequence  of  the  slaying  of  the  dragon,  but  the 
two  incidents  appear  separate  and  unconnected ;  or,  in 
other  words,  the  dragon  and  the  possessor  of  the  hoard 
are  one  and  the  same  being  in  the  Northern  traditions, 
while  in  the  Nibelungen  Lied  they  are  different 
beings  and  seem  altogether  unconnected,  nor  is  there 
anything  said  about  the  dragon's  former  human  nature. 
Raszmann  thinks  that  the  change  which  appears  in 
the  German  epic  was  brought  about  by  the  fact  that 

*  Dr.  Ernst  Koch,  Die  Nibelungensage,  p.  20. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  89 

a  Christian  poet  at  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century  — 
a  time  in  which  the  Church  was  all-powerful  —  could 
not  include  in  his  work  incidents  like  the  transfor- 
mation of  a  man,  the  possessor  of  the  hoard,  into  a 
dragon,  as  it  savored  too  much  of  paganism,  while 
the  cavaliers  at  Worms  and  Siegfried  appear  in 
the  garb  of  Christian  heroes.  Easzmaun  is  without 
doubt  correct  in  his  statement ;  and  although  there  is 
only  a  thin  veil  of  superficial  Christianity  spread  over 
our  poem,  yet  the  account  of  the  original  acquisition 
of  the  hoard  as  related  in  the  Edda  and  Volsunga 
Saga  could  not  find  a  place  in  the  Mediaeval  epic. 
It  is  true  that  there  are  in  the  poem  persons  and 
incidents  which  remind  us  of  pagan  times,  like  the 
giants,  dwarfs,  and  mermaids,  and  their  prophecies ; 
yet  in  the  manner  in  which  they  appear  in  our  poem 
they  were  far  less  offensive  and  unintelligible  to  the 
Christian  sentiment  of  the  age  than  Odin,  Loki,  and 
Hreidmar  would  have  been,  and  moreover  the  Mediae- 
val Church  freely  tolerated  a  sort  of  Christian  mythol- 
ogy. It  is  very  appropriate  that  Hagen  should  relate 
the  tale  of  the  acquisition  of  the  hoard,  as  he  is  well 
acquainted  with  foreign  lands ;  yet  the  whole  story, 
by  the  manner  and  language  in  which  it  is  told,  bears 
evidence  of  later  origin.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
account  of  Siegfried's  sojourn  at  the  smith's  (Regin's) 
was  omitted  in  our  poem,  as  it  was  not  adapted  to  the 
hero's  evidently  chivalric  position,  which  he  holds 
there  from  the  beginning,  and  would  not  have  been 
in  accordance  with  the  taste  of  the  higher  society  of 
the  age. 


90  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

As  has  been  seen  above,  the  tale  of  the  original 
acquisition  of  the  hoard  is  but  dimly  remembered  in 
the  Nibelungen  Lied  j  yet  although  the  hoard  lost  in 
the  German  poem  much  of  its  primitive  significance, 
and  is  no  longer  the  only  powerful  tragic  motive  of 
action,  it  is  not  without  importance.  The  curse  rest- 
ing upon  the  possessor  of  the  fatal  treasure  appears  in 
several  instances,  as  at  the  very  beginning,  in  the  death 
of  Schilbung  and  Nibelung,  and  especially  at  the  end 
of  the  epic,  when  Kriemhild  orders  Gunther's  head 
to  be  cut  off,  and  bears  it  to  Hagen  to  hear  from  him 
where  the  hoard  had  been  concealed. 

Most  scholars  assert  that  the  story  of  the  dragon 
and  of  Siegfried's  invulnerability,  in  the  form  in  which 
it  appears,  came  into  the  Nibelungen  Lied  only  at 
a  later  period  and  probably  from  current  popular 
songs ;  yet  the  origin  of  the  latter  may  date  back  to 
an  early  epoch.*  However  this  may  be,  we  must 
admit  with  W.  Grimm  that  by  this  attribute  Sieg- 
fried's heroic  valor  and  glory  appear  somewhat  dimin- 
ished. As  Siegfried,  the  invincible  hero,  had  to  die, 
there  arose  the  idea  of 'the  only  vulnerable  spot  be- 
tween the  shoulders,  where  a  linden  leaf  had  fallen, 
in  accordance  with  the  popular  belief  that  the  dragon 
—  Sintradije,  i.  e.  2tnt=fera(^c  or  Stntwitrm  —  dwelt  under 
a  linden-tree,  while  the  German  word  is  really  derived 
from  lint,  meaning  a  serpent,  as  in  Old  Norse  linne 
has  the  same  signification. 

In  conclusion,  we  must  refer  here  to  the  great 
Anglo-Saxon  epic  "Beowulf,"  which  was  composed 

*  See  Note  1,  p.  291. 


MEDIAEVAL    GERMANY.  91 

during  the  seventh  century  and  in  which  the  exploits 
of  the  hero  Beowulf  are  celebrated.  In  this  connec- 
tion we  may  quote  the  words  of  the  distinguished 
Anglo-Saxon  scholar,  B.  Thorpe,*  who  says :  "  With 
respect  to  this,  the  oldest  heroic  poem  in  any  (Jer- 
manic  tongue,  my  opinion  is  that  it  is  not  an  original 
production  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  muse,  but  a  metrical 
paraphrase  of  an  heroic  saga,  composed  in  the  South- 
west of  Sweden,  in  the  old  common  language  of  the 
North  and  probably  brought  to  this  country  [Eng- 
land] during  the  sway  of  the  Danish  dynasty.  It  is 
in  this  light  only  that  I  can  view  a  work  evincing 
a  knowledge  of  Northern  localities  and  persons  hardly 
to  be  acquired  by  a  native  of  England  in  those  days 
of  ignorance  with  regard  to  remote  foreign  parts. 
And  what  interest  could  an  Anglo-Saxon  feel  in  the 
valorous  feats  of  his  deadly  foes,  the  Northmen,  and 
in  the  encounter  of  a  Sweo-Gothic  hero  with  a  mon- 
ster in  Denmark,  or  with  a  fire-drake  in  his  own 
country  ?  The  answer,  I  think,  is  obvious,  —  none 
whatever."  The  poem  has  been  found  in  only  one 
manuscript,  believed  to  be  of  the  tenth  century,  while 
some  of  the  incidents,  as  far  as  they  are  historical  at 
all,  date  back  to  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century. 
The  epic  belongs  in  regard  to  the  language  properly 
to  English  literature,  yet  it  is  of  great  importance 
for  early  German  poetry  and  manners. 

The  poet,  relating  the  deeds  of  Sigmund,  says  that 
the  latter  slew  a  dragon  "  under  the  gray  rock,"  and 
that  "  the  dragon,  hot,  melted  away."  It  is  contrary 

*  Preface  (p.  viii. )  to  the  second  edition  of  his  "  Beowulf." 


92  THE  GREAT  EPICS   OF 

to  both  the  German  and  Northern  traditions  that 
Sigmund  here  appears  as  slayer  of  the  dragon,  and 
not  his  son  Sigurd,  while  the  fact  of  the  monster 
being  slain  "  under  the  gray  rock "  agrees  with  the 
account  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied  where  Siegfried  kills 
the  dragon  near  the  mountain.*  It  is  also  in  accord- 
ance with  the  lay  of  Siegfried  as  far  as  "  the  Drachen- 
stein"  is  concerned,!  and  with  the  story  in  the 
"  Rosengarten,"  where  the  dragon  is  slain  "  at  a 
rock."  The  words  "the  dragon,  hot,  melted  away" 
remind  us  of  Siegfried's  burning  the  monster  in  the 
first  part  of  the  lay  of  Siegfried ;  or,  if  the  dragon's 
horny  skin  was  melted  by  the  fire  coming  from  its 
jaws,  as  Moritz  Heyne  understands  it  in  his  glossary 
to  "  Beowulf,"  J  they  agree  with  the  corresponding 
passage  in  the  second  part  of  the  lay  of  Siegfried. 

The  leading  moral  idea  which  appears  pre-eminently 
in  the  Northern  traditions  is  the  curse  that  rests  on 
the  gold,  on  the  greed  for  wealth  which  particularly 
at  that  early  age  was  the  cause  of  untold  misery  and 
crimes.  The  power  of  the  German  kings  at  that  time 
was  based  to  a  great  extent  on  their  treasure,  or,  in 
epic  language,  on  their  hoard ;  and  both  history  and 
saga-lore  teach  us  what  cruelty,  murder,  and  treason 
sprang  from  the  eagerness  to  keep  and  increase  this 
source  of  their  might.  Among  the  saga-renowned 
treasures  of  antiquity  there  was,  besides  the  Nibelung 
hoard,  the  hoard  of  the  Gothic  king  Hermanric,  which 
is  also  referred  to  in  "Beowulf"  by  the  name  of 

*  P-  19.  t  p.  78.  |  Under  hdt,  adj. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  93 

brosinga  mene;  the  latter  corresponds  to  men  brisihga, 
in  Thrymskvidha,  12  of  the  Elder  Edda,  where  it  is  a 
necklace  of  the  goddess  Freya.*  In  this  connection 
we  may  allude  to  the  fact  that  in  the  Voluspa  (the 
vala's  prophecy)  in  the  Elder  Edda  the  first  murder 
is  ascribed  to  the  gold,  and  that  the  gold  is  called 
the  delight  of  evil-doers. 

Sigurd's  first  Meeting  with  Bryrihttd. 
Instead  of  the  wavering  fire  surrounding  Brynhild's 
castle,  as  related  in  the  Edda  and  Volsunga  Saga, 
the  Nibelungen  Lied  mentions  the  games  of  casting 
the  spear,  hurling  the  stone,  and  leaping,  in  which 
each  suitor  of  Brunhild,  queen  of  Isenland,  had  to 
match  his  skill  with  hers.  The  successful  competitor 
she  was  pledged  to  marry;  all  others  were  doomed 
to  death.  It  is  evident  that  despite  the  different 
aspect  of  the  Northern  and  German  traditions  there 
is  a  great  resemblance  between  them.  As  Brynhild 
vows  never  to  wed  a  man  who  knows  fear,  she  will 
marry,  in  the  German  epic,  only  him  who  can  van- 
quish her  in  the  three  games  which  correspond  to  the 
wavering  fire.  Again  her  supernatural  strength  de- 
pends, in  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  on  her  maidenhood, 
as  likewise,  in  the  Northern  traditions,  she  ceases  to 
be  valkyrie  after  her  marriage. 

The  Dreams  and  Prophecies. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied  Kriem- 
hild  dreams  that  her  love  will  end  in  sorrow,  and 

*  For  further  information  see  K.  Meyer,  Die  Dietrichsage,  etc. 
p.  34. 


94  THE   GREAT  EPICS  OF 

thus  from  the  heart  of  the  fair  maiden  comes  the  first 
boding  of  the  unutterable  woe  of  future  days.  Max 
Miiller,  in  describing  our  poem,  says  correctly: 
"  There  is  always  a  mingling  of  light  and  shade,  — 
in  joy  a  fear  of  sorrow,  in  sorrow  a  ray  of  hope,  and 
throughout  the  whole  a  silent  wondering  at  this 

-y  strange   world.      The  key-note  of  the  whole  poem 

of  the  Nibelunge,  as  it  was  written  down  at  the  end 

/of  the  twelfth  or  the  beginning  of  the   thirteenth 

/(  century,  is  sorrow  after  joy.  This  is  the  fatal  spell 
against  which  all  the  heroes  are  fighting,  and  fighting 
in  vain.  And  as  Hagen  dashes  the  chaplain  into 
the  waves  in  order  to  belie  the  prophecy  of  the  mer- 
maids, but  the  chaplain  rises  and  Hagen  plunges 
headlong  into  destruction,  so  Kriemhild  is  bargaining 
and  playing  with  the  same  inevitable  fate,  cautiously 
guarding  her  young  heart  against  the  happiness  of 
love,  that  she  may  escape  the  sorrows  of  a  broken 
heart."  To  Kriemhild's  dream  in  the  Mbelungen 
Lied  corresponds  Gudrun's  dream  of  the  fair  hawk,* 
with  the  exception  of  the  death  of  the  falcon  by  the 
two  eagles;  yet  in  the  dream  related  to  Brun- 
hild f  the  place  of  the  falcon  is  taken  by  the  stag 
who  is  slain  by  Brunhild.  It  is  remarkable  that 
the  latter  dream  foreshadows  Siegfried's  death  in 
the  chase,  as  told  in  the  Nibelungen  Lied  and  in  the 
Thidrek  Saga,  thus  differing  from  the  account  of 
most  of  the  Northern  sagas,  where  he  is  murdered  in 
his  bed. 

Dreams  and  prophecies  form  a  very  striking  charac- 
*  p.  67.  t  p.  68. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  95 

teristic  of  Teutonic  mythology,  and  indeed  of  that  of 
most  nations  of  antiquity.  Among  the  Germans,  as 
we  know  from  history,  women  were  especially  consid- 
ered to  be  distinguished  by  the  gift  of  prophecy,  and 
were  on  that  account  held  in  great  honor ;  thus,  for 
instance,  the  maiden  priestess  Veleda  exercised  a  great 
political  influence  among  the  Bructeri  through  her 
prophetic  power.  It  is  therefore  not  surprising  that 
dreams  and  prophecies  occur  frequently  in  the  North- 
ern Nibelung  epics  and  sagas ;  and  the  fact  that  they 
are  also  often  met  with  in  the  German  traditions,  in 
spite  of  the  great  transformation  of  the  latter,  shows 
that  they  must  be  deeply  rooted  in  our  saga. 

After  having  mentioned  Kriemhild's  dream  at  the 
opening  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  it  will  be  sufficient 
here  to  merely  refer  to  the  other  dreams  and  prophe- 
cies, among  which  the  following  are  the  most  impor- 
tant :  the  dream  of  Queen  Ute*  before  her  sons 
departed  to  the  land  of  the  Huns,  corresponding  to 
the  dreams  of  Gunnar's  and  Hogni's  wives  ;f  the 
prophecies  which  were  communicated  to  Siegfried  by 
Fafiiir,  J  the  eagles,§  and  Brunhild ;  ||  the  warnings 
that  Gudrun  sent  her  brothers  by  a  Runic  message ;  ^J 
Kriemhild's  dreams  before  Siegfried's  departure  to  the 
chase ;  *  *  the  prophecies  of  the  mermaids  to  Hagen ;  ff 
and  Eugel's  foretelling  of  Siegfried's  death.  There 
are  also  some  other  prophecies  in  the  Northern  sagas, 

*  p.  27.  I!  p.  66. 

t  p.  74.  1  p.  74. 

J  p.  64.  **  p.  20. 

§  p.  64,  tt  p.  28. 


96  THE  GREAT  EPICS  OF 

which  have  not  been  mentioned  in  the  outline  given 
above,  as  they  are  of  little  importance  for  our  pur- 
pose. 

Raszmann,  referring  to  the  prophecy  in  the  Edda 
and  Volsunga  Saga,  very  correctly  states  that  it  coun- 
terbalances the  curse  of  Andvari,  "  as  against  the  de- 
moniac sway  of  the  latter  it  manifests  itself  as  an 
announcement  of  the  approaching  fate,  and  as  a  voice 
of  warning  through  words  and  dreams  ever  anew,  and 
the  more  and  more  definitely,  the  nearer  the  curse 
draws  towards  its  fulfilment.  .  .  .  But  all  these  prophe- 
cies cannot  in  the  least  check  the  sway  of  the  curse ; 
on  the  contrary,  every  accomplishment  of  it  only  calls 
forth  the  conviction  of  an  inevitable  destiny;  and 
the  more  vividly  and  decisively,  therefore,  the  prophe- 
cies of  the  new  destruction  appear,  the  more  pas- 
sionately those  that  are  involved  in  the  curse  rush 
into  it." 

The  Royal  House  at  Worms. 

When  we  come  to  consider  that  portion  of  our 
saga  which  relates  to  Gunther  and  his  house,  we 
approach  historical  ground,  although  it  may  be  stated 
here  beforehand  that  the  events  of  the  second  part  of 
the  Nibelungen  Lied  are  chiefly  based  on  history, 
while  those  of  the  first  part  are  the  outgrowth  of  a 
myth.  It  is  an  historical  fact,  that  in  the  year  437 
the  Burgundian  king  Gundicar,  or  Gundahar,  was 
slain,  with  his  family  and  thousands  of  his  followers, 
by  the  Huns  under  the  Eoman  general  Aetius.  The 
Burgundians,  who  belonged  to  the  Teutonic  race, 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  97 

appear  first  in  the  country  between  the  Vistula  and  the 
Oder ;  but  by  the  irruption  of  the  Huns,  and  the  sub- 
sequent migration  of  the  races,  they  were  driven  to 
the  west  and  south.  During  the  last  decades  of  the 
fourth  century  they  dwelt  on  the  eastern  shore  of 
the  Ehine,  while  in  the  year  406  they  crossed  the 
river,  obtained  Germania  Prima  from  the  Romans, 
and  dwelt  on  both  sides  of  the  Rhine,  including 
the  region  near  Worms,  Speyer,  and  Mainz.  It  is 
not  surprising  that  an  event  like  the  overthrow  of 
Gundicar,  the  founder  of  the  first  Teutonic  realm 
on  Roman  soil,  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  peo- 
ple of  his  time,  and  saga  lore  at  once  took  hold  of 
the  subject.  After  the  destructive  battle  of  437 
the  Burgundians  were  transferred  to  Savoy,  where 
in  the  year  443  a  new  Burgundian  kingdom  was 
founded  under  the  sceptre  of  a  West-Gothic  family, 
relatives  of  Gundahar.  One  of  the  kings  of  the  new 
dynasty,  whose  name  was  Gundobad,  gave  to  his  peo- 
ple, in  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century,  a  collec- 
tion of  laws,  the  well-known  "  Lex  Burgundionum,"  in 
which  he  names  as  his  ancestors  "  Gibica,  Godomar, 
Gislahar,  and  Gundahar." 

Gibica  is  Gibich,  which  is  the  name  of  the  father 
of  the  three  kings  in  the  Mediaeval  German  epics 
with  the  exception  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  where  he 
is  called  Dankrat.  One  of  the  most  ancient  Anglo- 
Saxon  poems,  "  The  Traveller,"  which  is,  however, 
little  more  than  a  roll  of  names,  like  the  catalogue  in 
Homer,  knows  this  Burgundian  king  by  the  name 
"  Gifica,"  and  mentions  him  after  Attila,  king  of  the 


98  THE  GREAT   EPICS   OF 

Huns,  and  Hermanric,  king  of  the  Goths  (Yormunrek 
in  the  Volsunga  Saga).  Gibich  is  identical  with  the 
northern  Giuki,  the  latter  name  being  derived  from 
an  old  Saxon  form  "Giveko,"  closely  related  to  the 
Anglo-Saxon  "  Gifica." 

The  name  "  Godomar  "  occurs  neither  in  the  North- 
ern nor  in  the  German  saga ;  instead  of  it  Guthorm 
appears  in  the  former  and  Gernot  in  the  latter.  The 
historical  Giselher  is  unknown  in  the  Northern  tradi- 
tions ;  and  as  his  character  was  probably  little  defined 
in  the  saga,  and  he  is  of  no  particular  influence  in  the 
general  course  of  the  story,  the  poet  of  the  Nibelungen 
Lied  was  at  liberty  to  form  a  creation  according  to 
his  own  imagination.  Thus  the  youngest  brother  of 
Kriemhild  became  the  most  amiable  of  the  three 
kings  and  the  one  most  beloved  by  his  sister.  He 
spoke  against  the  murder  of  Siegfried  *  and  took  no 
part  in  the  crime,  but  he  was  unable  to  prevent  it. 
A  charming  episode  is  made  of  his  sojourn  at  Bech- 
laren,  and  of  his  betrothal  with  Eiidiger's  daughter ;  f 
and  again  very  touching  are  his  appeals  to  Krieni- 
hild's  pity  and  sisterly  love  when  death  threatened 
him  and  his  friends.J  Although  ever  unsuccessful  in 
his  attempts  to  have  the  right  prevail,  he  is  firm,  and 
suffers  death  rather  than  consent  to  surrender  Hagen, 
the  faithful  liegeman,  to  the  queen's  revenge,  in  order 
to  save  his  own  life.  Indeed  Giselher's  character, 
although  extremely  kind  and  devoted,  shows  no 
weakness,  and  is  in  this  respect  very  different  from 
that  of  Gunther,  who  yields  to  Brunhild's  powerful 

«  p.  18.  t  P.  31.  t  p-  39. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  99 

will  and  Hagen's  treacherous  insinuations,  and  con- 
sents to  the  murder  of  Siegfried,  his  best  friend,  to 
whom  he  owed  so  much. 

The  evidence  drawn  from  the  Burgundian  law,  in 
connection  with  the  historical  fact  of  Gunther's  de- 
feat by  the  Huns,  although  the  latter  were  not  led 
by  Attila  in  person,  permits  us  to  determine,  at  least 
approximately,  the  date  of  this  part  of  our  saga.  It 
seems  unquestionable  that  it  cannot  have  originated 
before  the  destruction  of  the  earlier  Burgundian 
realm,  nor  yet  very  long  after  it,  since,  as  we  have 
said  before,  the  Burgundians  were  transferred  to 
Savoy  in  the  year  443,  and  their  temporary  so- 
journ near  the  Ehine  was  soon  forgotten.  At  the 
same  time  the  saga  of  the  Burgundian  kings  was 
blended  with  the  story  of  Siegfried,  which,  as  we  shall 
see  hereafter,  is  based  on  a  myth,  while  the  whole 
Nibeluug  saga  must  have  been  known  to  the  North 
as  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century,  as 
is  evident  from  Anglo-Saxon  works  and  especially 
from  "The  Traveller."  In  this  connection  we  may 
quote  Professor  Miillenhoff's  remark*  on  the  beginning 
of  the  German  heroic  sagas :  "  The  heroic  age,"  he  says, 
"  forms  in  the  life  of  a  nation  the  great  turning-point, 
when  it  enters  from  its  primitive  condition  into  the 
condition  which  we  name  the  historical.  The  so- 
called  '  Migration  of  the  Eaces '  is  the  German  heroic 
age,  and  the  cradle  of  our  hero-saga." 

In  the  Northern  traditions  and  in  the  lay  of  Sieg- 
fried, Hagen  (Hogni)  is  one  of  the  royal  brothers, 
*  Zur  Geschichte  der  Nibelunge  Not. 


100  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

while  in  all  the  German  poems  of  the  twelfth  and 
thirteenth  centuries  he  is  a  relative  of  the  kings,  and 
their  most  powerful  and  distinguished  vassal.  In  the 
Thiclrek  Saga  he  is  the  son  of  Queen  Oda  (Ute),  who, 
while  asleep,  was  overpowered  by  an  elf;  and  Hagen 
is  thus  the  step-brother  of  the  kings.  His  descent 
from  a  demon  is  seen  in  the  paleness  of  his  face  and 
in  his  general  spectral  appearance.  In  Waltharius,* 
where  Gibich,  the  father  of  Gunther,  appears  as 
king  of  Frankland  and  resides  in  Worms,  Hagen  is 
no  relation  of  the  royal  house,  and  is  said  to  be  of 
Trojan  race,  —  a  statement  which  is  based  on  the  old 
tradition  of  the  descent  of  the  Franks  from  Troy. 
As  it  was  but  natural  that  the  heroes  of  the  saga 
should  be  placed  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Ehine  and  of 
Worms,  Troy  became,  in  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  Tronje, 
which  is  identical  with  Tronia,  a  name  found  in  doc- 
uments of  the  ninth  century,  denoting  a  place  which 
lies  northwest  of  Strassburg  and  is  now  called  Kirch- 
heim.  Yet  while  Hageu  is  by  no  means  an  historical 
personage,  he  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  interesting 
and  powerful  figures  in  the  Mbelungen  Lied,  and  his 
character,  as  it  appears  in  our  poem,  has  been  suffi- 
ciently pointed  out  in  the  outline  of  the  latter,  given 
above.  In  the  Northern  traditions  he  (Hogni)  bears 
himself  nobly  throughout;  and  although  he  speaks 
against  Siegfried's  (Sigurd's)  murder,  he  does  not 
shrink  from  sharing  the  responsibility  for  the  deed 
after  it  has  been  done. 

Volker  did  not  originally  belong  to  the  saga,  but 

*  See  Introduction. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  101 

is  a  creation  of  later  times  ;  and  through  him  Medi- 
aeval German  knighthood  and  court  poetry  were  par- 
ticularly  represented  and  glorified.  He  was  placed  in 
the  poem  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Rhine,  —  in 
Alzey  in  the  Palatinate ;  the  Lords  of  Alzey  bore  a 
fiddle  in  their  escutcheon,  and  were  commonly  called 
"the  Fiddlers."*  Like  Volker  in  the  Nibelungen 
Lied  we  find  in  "  Gudrun  "  f  Horand,  the  brave  war- 
rior and  skilled  minstrel ;  and  in  the  Edda  Gunnar 
himself  plays  the  harp.J 

In  regard  to  Kriemhild  it  will  suffice  here  to  re- 
peat that  in  the  first  part  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied  she 
is  a  pure  and  noble  character,  the  very  type  of  fair 
and  gentle  womanhood,  while  in  the  second  part  her 
passion  to  revenge  Siegfried's  death  gradually  clouds 
her  lovely  appearance,  until  at  last  she  is  seen  in  a 
ghastly  glare  of  fiendish  grandeur.     Her  mother  is 
in  the  German  epic  a  revered  queen,  while  in  the 
Northern  traditions  she  is  an  ambitious   and  wily 
sorceress  who  by  magic  drinks  compels  Siegfried  to 
forget  Brunhild  and  his  oaths,  and  to  fall  in  love 
with  her  own  daughter.     In  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  as 
we  have  seen,  Siegfried's  former  acquaintance  with 
Brunhild,  although  not  wholly  forgotten,  has  yet  lost 
so  much  of  its  primitive  significance  that  there  is 
no  need  of  any  magic  drink.     In  fact,  as  Uhland 
says,  the  Christian  poets  of  the  Middle  Ages  had 
themselves   taken  a   draught    of   forgetfulness,   and 
they  could  no  longer  discern  the  lofty  form  of  the 
valkyrie    Brunhild,   while    Kriemhild    assumed    the 
*  Cf.  p.  34.  t  p.  167.  t   p.  75. 


102  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

principal  role  in  the  German  epic.  Yet  although 
the  sublime  character  which  Brunhild  exhibits  in 
the  Edda  fades  away  in  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  she 
retains  a  dark  and  gloomy  power,  to  which  the  sin- 
ister gorgeoushess  of  her  palace  in  Isenland,  built  of 
green  marble  blocks  and  with  eighty-six  dismally 
frowning  turrets,  forms  a  grand  tragic  background. 

The  hoard  is  of  great  importance  in  Sigurd's  mar- 
riage wdth  Gudrun,  as  he  takes  it  with  him  to  Giuki's 
court,  and  it  forms  a  powerful  incentive  for  Gu-' 
drun's  mother  to  attach  him  to  the  royal  house.  In 
the  Nibelungen  Lied,  Siegfried  left  the  hoard  under 
Alberich's  care  in  the  Nibelung  Land,  and  it  is  thus 
of  no  significance  in  the  wooing  of  Kriemhild.  As  has 
been  said  before,  the  three  games  correspond  to  the 
wavering  fire,  and  the  Tarnkappe  to  the  change  of 
semblance,  while  the  combat  between  Siegfried  and 
Brunhild  in  the  bridal  chamber  is  a  product  of  the 
imaginative  power  of  the  poet.  Sigurd's  second  ride 
through  the  flame  wall  (in  the  likeness  of  Gunnar)  is 
described  more  fully  and  in  more  glowing  colors  than 
his  first  ride,  as  it  was  the  more  important  of  the 
two  and  alone  had  fatal  consequences. 

The  Quarrel  of  tlie  Queens,  and  Siegfried's  Death. 

The  quarrel  of  the  queens,  although  brought  about 
in  a  different  manner  in  the  Northern  and  German 
accounts,  leads  to  the  same  result,  namely,  to  Sieg- 
fried's death.  In  both  traditions  Brunhild  provokes 
the  strife  and  offends  Kriemhild  by  her  haughty  de- 
meanor, while  the  latter,  carried  away  by  the  heat 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  103 

of  her  wrath,  declares  that  Siegfried  had  been  Brun- 
hild's first  husband.  This  bold  assertion  was  not 
supported  by  anything  that  Siegfried  had  told  his 
wife  of  his  relation  to  Brunhild,  yet  he  had  given  her 
the  ring  (and  the  girdle),  which  were  at  least  apparent 
proofs  of  the  accusation  she  had  hurled  against  the 
overbearing  queen.  Apart  from  this  fault,  Siegfried  in 
the  Nibelungen  Lied  is  without  guilt  and  his  murder 
is  a  crime,  for  there  is  nothing  in  the  poem  that  clearly 
indicates  his  former  intimate  acquaintance  with  Brun- 
hild. On  the  other  hand,  in  the  Northern  traditions  he 
is  guilty,  since,  although  he  was  forced  by  magic  drinks 
to  forget  his  love  for  Brunhild,  he  deceived  her  know- 
ingly when  he  came  to  her  in  the  likeness  of  Gunther, 
took  the  ring  from  her,  and  revealed  what  had  passed 
to  his  wife.  Brunhild's  honor  and  pride  were  deeply 
offended  by  this  deception,  and  nothing  less  than  Sieg- 
fried's death  could  atone  for  the  insult  she  had  suf- 
fered, while  moreover  her  heart  was  consumed  by 
raging  flames  of  jealousy,  as  another  woman  possessed 
the  greatest  hero  of  the  time,  —  the  man  who  had 
been  destined  for  her  and  whom  she  loved.  Her 
grand  character  appears  especially  in  the  conflict  be- 
tween her  love  of  Siegfried  and  the  inevitable  neces- 
sity to  demand  satisfaction  for  the  wrong  he  had 
inflicted  upon  her.  In  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  where 
Siegfried  is  not  destined  for  Brunhild,  the  latter's 
pride  seems  to  be  the  main  motive  of  action ;  yet,  as 
Lachmann  and  Koch  have  observed,  why  should 
Brunhild  care  so  much  for  Siegfried's  vassalage,  un- 
less she  envies  Kriemhild  for  being  Siegfried's  wife  ? 


104  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

The  Younger  Edda,  the  Volsunga  Saga,  and  most 
of  the  songs  of  the  Elder  Edda  relate  that  Siegfried 
(Sigurd)  was  murdered  while  sleeping  in  his  bed,* 
while  according  to  the  "  Lay  of  Brynhild  "  and  to  the 
"  Second  Lay  of  Gudrun  "  in  the  Elder  Edda,  he  was 
slain  without  doors.  At  the  end  of  the  "  Lay  of  Bryn- 
hild "  the  collector  of  the  poem  wrote  a  few  lines  in 
prose,  referring  to  these  different  tales  of  Siegfried's 
death,  and  also  stating  that  according  to  German  tra- 
ditions he  was  murdered  in  the  wood.  Whatever 
may  have  been  the  original  version  of  the  saga,  the 
most  important  point  is  that  in  all  accounts  Siegfried 
was  treacherously  slain,  —  a  fact  already  recognized 
in  the  concluding  sentence  of  the  prose  remarks  after 
the  Lay  of  Brynhild :  "  But  all  say  with  one  accord 
that  they  betrayed  him  in  their  troth,  and  murdered 
him  as  he  lay  unarrayed  and  unawares."  It  is  but 
natural  and  in  accordance  with  the  lofty  character  of 
the  valkyrian  Brunhild,  that  in  the  Northern  sagas, 
where  she  loves  Siegfried,  she  should  slay  herself  after 
the  latter's  death.  On  the  other  "hand,  in  the  Nibe- 
lungen  Lied,  where  Brunhild's  and  Siegfried's  relations 
to  each  other  are  different,  there  appears  no  reason  why 
she  should  seek  death  after  her  pride  and  honor  had 
been  avenged.  Henceforth  she  sinks  into  complete 
insignificance,  and,  as  has  been  said  before,  Kriem- 
hild  becomes  the  great  heroine  of  the  German  epic. 

The  Revenge. 

Kriemhild's  grief  and  despair  on  account  of  Sieg- 
fried's death  are  depicted  with  no  less  glowing  colors 
*  p.  72. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  105 

in  the  Nibelungen  Lied  than  in  the  Edda  and  in  the 
Volsunga  Saga.  In  the  latter  she  becomes  reconciled 
to  her  brothers,  takes  their  part  against  Atli  (Attila), 
and  slays  him.  In  the  German  epic  she  is  impla- 
cable, sacrifices  everything  to  her  all-powerful  pas- 
sion of  revenge,  marries  Attila  only  in  order  to  bring 
about  the  destruction  of  Siegfried's  murderer,  and 
shrinks  not  from  the  bloodiest  deeds  to  accomplish 
her  object. 

When  we  come  to  the  second  part  of  the  Nibe- 
lungen Lied,  the  historical  elements  of  the  saga  appear 
more  conspicuously,  although  the  chief  historical  per- 
sonages in  it  are  often  represented  in  a  manner  con- 
trary to  authenticated  truth.  The  principal  historic 
characters  here  are  Attila,  king  of  the  Huns,  and 
Theodoric,  the  Ostrogoth,  the  greatest  of  the  early 
German  conquerors,  and  renowned  in  saga-lore  by  the 
name  of  Dietrich  von  Bern,  from  his  palace  at  Verona 
(Bern).  Yet,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  Attila  and  Theodoric 
cannot  have  met,  since  the  former  died  in  453  and  the 
latter  was  born  in  455. 

While  speaking  of  Attila,  we  cannot  but  briefly 
refer  to  the  most  stirring  and  momentous  event  of 
the  times,  which  is  known  as  the  Migration  of  the 
Ea'ces.  The  movement  began  long  before  the  Chris- 
tian era,  when  the  nomadic  hordes  of  the  Huns  in 
Eastern  Asia  became  such  terrible  foes  to  the  Chinese 
that  the  latter  built  the  Great  Wall  of  China  to  ward 
off  their  attacks.  Being  afterwards  defeated  by  the 
Chinese,  about  the  year  100  B.  c.,  they  fled  westward, 
traversed  Central  Asia,  and  in  the  year  375  of  our  era, 


106  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

after  crossing  the  vast  plains  at  the  west  of  the  Ural 
Mountains,  conquered  the  land  of  the  Alans  between 
the  Volga  and  the  Don.  Together  with  the  Alans 
they  pressed  forward,  and  fell  upon  the  Goths.  The 
ancient  kingdom  of  the  Goths  had  been  divided 
about  the  year  369  into  the  Visigothic  and  Ostro- 
gothic  realms ;  the  former  comprised  the  country 
north  of  the  Danube  and  extended  westward  to  the 
river  Theiss  in  Hungary,  while  the  latter  was  situated 
in  Southern  Russia  between  the  Don  and  the  Dnies- 
ter. The  Huns  attacked  first  the  Ostrogoths  under 
their  aged  king,  Hermanric,  who  nominally  ruled 
over  both  the  Gothic  nations.  The  Ostrogoths  were 
vanquished,  and  forced  to  submission ;  Hermanric  in 
despair  killing  himself  with  his  own  sword. 

Then  they  fell  upon  the  Visigoths,  who  gave  way 
before  the  irresistible  power  of  the  invaders,  and  were 
driven  westward.  The  greater  part  of  the  Visigoths 
crossed  the  Danube,  entered  the  Eastern  Empire,  and 
settled  in  the  country  between  the  Lower  Danube  and 
the  Hellespont,  after  a  treaty  had  been  concluded  be- 
tween them  and  the  Emperor  Valens.  On  account  of 
the  ill  treatment  they  suffered  from  the  treacherous 
Roman  officers,  the  Visigoths  arose  in  arms  against 
Valens,  and  defeated  him  in  the  great  battle  of  Adria- 
nople  in  the  year  378.  Later,  in  402,  they  conquered 
Italy  under  their  great  king,  Alaric ;  but  ten  years 
afterwards  they  passed  through  Southern  Gaul  into 
Spain,  and  founded  a  kingdom  with  the  capital  at 
Toulouse.  Their  king,  Theodoric  I.,  fell  in  the  fa- 
mous battle  in  which  Attila  was  defeated,  upon  the 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  107 

far-stretching  plains  on  the  Marne,  Aube,  and  Seine, 
between  Troyes  and  Chalons,  in  the  year  451 ;  and  no 
small  share  in  the  honor  of  the  victory  was  due  to  the 
valor  of  the  Visigoths.  In  this  memorable  struggle, 
which  decided  the  fate  of  Europe,  Attila  had,  besides 
his  Huns,  the  Ostrogoths,  Thuringians,  Burgundians, 
Franks,  and  many  other  German  tribes,  while  the 
Roman  Aetius  with  the  legions  in  Gaul  was  sup- 
ported by  the  Visigoths  and  bands  of  Franks,  Saxons, 
and  Burgundiaus.  Thus  Germans  fought  against  Ger- 
mans ;  and  so  fierce  was  the  combat  that  a  brook  which 
crossed  the  field  streamed  with  the  blood  of  the  slain, 
and  yet  the  exhausted  warriors  quenched  their  thirst 
from  the  gory  waves.  We  are  vividly  reminded  of 
this  report  by  Hagen's  terrible  advice  in  the  Nibe- 
lungen  Lied  to  drink  the  blood  of  the  slain.*  The 
fame  of  the  great  painter,  Kaulbach,  was  particularly 
founded  on  his  grand  historical  fresco  in  Berlin, 
representing  the  battle  of  the  Huns. 

After  Attila's  death,  in  the  year  453,  all  the  Ger- 
man tribes  that  had  submitted  to  the  yoke  of  the 
Huns  regained  their  freedom,  while  the  far-stretching 
realm  of  the  Asiatic  conqueror  sank  speedily  into 
nothingness,  from  which  it  had  so  suddenly  arisen. 
Yet,  short  as  was  the  sway  of  Attila  (from  434  to 
453),  the  terror  it  had  inspired,  and  the  great  commo- 
tion it  had  brought  over  the  whole  Teuton  and  Roman 
world,  were  not  so  soon  forgotten.  The  people  remem- 
bered with  awe  that  there  was  a  time  when  the  scales 
in  the  hand  of  Fate  trembled,  and  the  momentous 
*  p.  40. 


108  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

question  was  not  whether  the  vigorous  Teutons  should 
wrest  the  sceptre  from  proud  and  effeminate  Rome,  or 
whether  the  stratagems  and  subtle  diplomacy  of  the 
latter  could  stay  the  inroads  of  the  German  tribes, 
but  whether  the  civilization  of  the  world  should  be 
submerged  in  the  dark  and  bottomless  sea  of  the  Hun- 
nish  invasion.  Thus  the  memory  of  the  great  chief- 
tain hovered  for  a  long  time,  like  a  bloody  phantom, 
in  the  Roman  annals  and  in  the  German  sagas. 

Jornandes,  who  wrote  "  De  rebus  geticis  "  about  the 
year  552,  mentions,  on  the  authority  of  Prisons,  that 
Attila  died  suddenly  on  his  bridal  night  with  Ildico. 
The  latter  name  is  a  diminutive  of  Hilde,  which  is 
an  abbreviation  of  a  word  compounded  with  hild, 
like  Brunhild  or  Kriemhild.  Although  in  the  whole 
account  given  by  Jornandes  there  is  no  trace  of  a 
suspicion  of  the  maiden's  guilt,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  popular  opinion  soon  attributed  the  sudden  death 
of  the  powerful  conqueror  to  his  bride.  Indeed  Comes 
Marcellinus,  who  lived  about  the  same  time  as  Jor- 
nandes, records  as  an  historical  fact  that  Attila  met 
his  death  at  night  from  the  hand  of  a  woman.  This 
report  was  widely  spread,  and  became  known  to  the 
Northern  people,  who  readily  believed  it,  and  in  their 
saga  made  the  murderess  of  Attila  commit  the  deed 
in  order  to  avenge  her  brothers,  as  this  was  a  duty 
to  which  she  was  bound  according  to  the  Northern 
customs.  On  account  of  the  pre-eminent  position 
which  Attila  occupied  in  the  minds  of  men,  it  is  but 
natural  that  the  overthrow  of  Gunther's  Burgundian 
kingdom  by  the  Huns  should  be  ascribed  directly  to 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  109 

him,  although  historically  Attila  himself  had  taken  no 
part  in  it.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  in  ancient  times  the  rich  king  was  also  the 
mighty  one,  and  the  power  of  the  early  warrior  kings 
over  their  dependants  and  against  their  foes  derived 
one  of  its  chief  resources  from  their  treasure.  Thus 
the  latter  became  the  emblem  of  the  royal  power,  and, 
as  Miillenhoff  remarks,  "since  every  prince  as  such 
has  a  treasure,  which  is  the  nerve  of  his  might,  hoard 
and  realm  (hord  and  rice,  Beowulf,  4734)  are  insep- 
arable ideas."  Again  Miillenhoff  argues  very  correctly 
when  he  says  :  "  If  therefore  Attila  coveted  Gunnar's 
realm,  it  means  in  epic  language  that  he  wished  to 
possess  his  hoard ;  and  if  he  despoiled  him  and  his 
race  entirely  of  their  realm,  he  despoiled  them  also 
of  their  hoard."  At  the  same  time,  since  Attila 
(Atli)  appeared  as  the  conqueror  of  Gunnar,  he  could 
but  assume  in  the  saga  the  part  of  the  avenger  of 
Sigurd,  although  it  is  true  that  Atli's  main  purpose 
was  to  obtain  Gunnar's  hoard,  i.  e.  his  realm,  and  he 
would  have  acted  as  he  did  even  if  he  had  not  been 
married  to  Gudrun.  The  Northern  traditions  in  so 
far  as  they  attribute  Attila's  death  to  his  wife  are 
in  accordance,  if  not  with  the  records  of  strictly  his- 
torical truth,  at  least  with  the  popular  opinions  that 
prevailed  soon  after  he  died,  and  we  must  therefore 
conclude  that  they  represent  the  earlier  formation  of 
this  part  of  the  saga.  The  particular  features  of  the 
revenge  were  to  a  great  extent  based  on  an  older 
tradition  found  in  the  beginning  of  the  Volsunga 
Saga,  and  especially  in  the  eighth  chapter,  which 


110  THE   GREAT>EPICS  OF 

treats  of  the  vengeance  that  Signy  wreaked  on  her 
husband  for  the  death  of  her  father  and  her  brothers. 

"When  we  compare  the  historical  Attila,  before 
whose  piercing  glance  Rome  and  Constantinople 
trembled,  with  Etzel  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  we  find 
that  the  latter  bears  but  a  slight  resemblance  to  the 
former.  It  is  true  that  Attila's  powerful  sway  is  still 
reflected  in  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  as  Kriemhild  at  her 
arrival  in  the  land  of  the  Huns  is  surprised  at  seeing 
so  many  nations  submitted  to  his  sceptre.*  Yet 
upon  the  whole  Etzel  plays  in  the  German  epic  the 
part  of  a  weak  and  sometimes  even  contemptible 
king,  while  glimpses  of  his  real  might  can  be  detected 
only  at  rare  intervals,  fluttering  as  it  were  in  the  far- 
distant  background  of  a  by -gone  time.  Although  the 
residence  of  the  Mongol  chieftain  between  the  Theiss 
and  the  Danube,  near  the  Carpathian  Mountains,  con- 
sisted only  of  wooden  structures,  they  showed,  by  the 
immense  spoils  that  were  piled  up  there,  and  by  the 
presence  of  embassies  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  that 
Attila's  power  extended  from  the  Volga  to  the  Rhine, 
from  the  Danube  to  the  Vistula  and  the  Elbe,  and 
that  his  mighty  hand  reached  out  even  to  Constan- 
tinople, Africa,  and  the  Euphrates. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  much  of  this  external 
splendor  of  Attila's  court  is  still  seen  in  the  Nibe- 
lungen Lied,  while  on  the  other  hand  it  is  but  natural 
that  Atli,  as  well  as  Giuki  and  Gunnar  in  the  Northern 
traditions,  should  appear  merely  as  kings  of  tribes  or 
chiefs  of  clans.  The  Eddas  and  the  Volsunga  Saga 
*  p.  26. 


MEDIAEVAL   GERMANY.  Ill 

bear  the  impress  of  the  early  Teutonic  era,  when  the 
king  was  little  more  than  the  chosen  leader  in  war ; 
and  the  Northern  people  for  a  long  time  had  in  their 
political  institutions  nothing  by  which  the  conception 
of  a  great  monarchy,  or  still  less  of  a  far-stretching 
realm  like  that  of  Attila,  could  be  expressed. 

Let  us  now  leave  the  Huns,  whose  habit  was  to 
live  more  on  horseback  than  on  the  ground,  who  shot 
their  bone-pointed  arrows  and  whirled  their  slings 
with  terrific  force  and  speed  as  they  rode,  and  who 
by  their  repulsive  sight,  their  flat  noses,  and  small, 
treacherous,  and  fierce  eyes,  filled  their  foes  with  as 
nmch  disgust  as  fear.  Together  with  his  hordes  we 
also  leave  Attila,  "  the  scourge  of  God,"  who  bore 
upon  his  countenance  the  indelible  stamp  of  his  race, 
and  whose  sole  aim,  like  that  of  most  Asiatic  con- 
querors, was  destruction.  As  we  have  spoken  of 
Gunther  and  the  overthrow  of  the  Burgundians,*  we 
may  now  turn  to  another  grand  personage  in  our 
poem,  whose  picture  is  far  more  refreshing  and  in- 
spiring, both  in  history  and  saga-lore,  than  that  of 
Attila.  This  is  the  Ostrogoth,  Theodoric  the  Great 
(born  455,  died  526),  renowned  in  German  sagas  by 
the  name  of  Dietrich  von  Bern. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  after  Attila's  death  the 
German  tribes  that  had  obeyed  his  rule  became  again 
independent,  The  Ostrogoths  dwelt  then  in  Pan- 
nonia  in  the  plains  of  the  Danube,  whence  they  often, 
under  the  leadership  of  the  three  brothers  Walamir, 
Theodemir,  and  "VVidiinir,  made  incursions  into  the 

p.  96. 


112  THE   GREAT   EPICS  OF 

Eastern  Empire.  Theodoric,  the  son  of  Theodemir 
and  a  descendant  of  the  noble  house  of  the  Amali, 
was  brought  up  as  a  hostage  in  the  court  of  Con- 
stantinople ;  and  while  he  distinguished  himself  in 
early  manhood  by  heroic  deeds,  he  acquired  at  the 
same  time  the  art  of  government,  and  perceived  what 
power  he  could  wield  by  the  valor  of  his  Goths. 

Soon  after  the  overthrow  of  the  Western  Empire 
by  Odoacer  in  the  year  476,  Theodoric  was  chosen 
king  by  his  people,  and  later,  at  the  instigation  of  the 
emperor  at  Constantinople,  he  set  out  to  conquer 
Italy,  nominally  as  the  viceroy  of  the  Eastern  poten- 
tate, but  really  in  entire  independence  of  the  latter. 
After  a  stubborn  contest,  in  which  again  Germans 
fought  against  Germans,  Theodoric,  aided  by  Visigoths 
from  Gaul,  at  last  vanquished  Odoacer  and  took  his 
stronghold,  Eavenna,  in  the  year  493.  The  chief 
object  of  Theodoric  as  ruler  of  Italy  was  to  permeate 
the  decaying  institutions  of  Koine  with  the  new  life 
that  came  from  the  vigorous  spirit  of  his  race,  and  to 
unite  the  two  nations  into  one.  Although  prosperity 
prevailed  again  in  Italy,  and  the  arts  were  revived  so 
that  even  the  Roman  people  called  the  period  of  his 
reign,  from  489  to  526,  a  golden  time,  he  failed  in  his 
endeavor  to  blend  the  population  of  Italy,  chiefly 
because  the  Goths  were  Arians  and  the  Italians 
Catholics.  Another  of  Theodoric's  great  aims  was 
to  unite  all  the  German  tribes  into  one  national 
league  ;  yet  this  plan  was  impracticable  for  the  time, 
and  was  frustrated  by  the  rising  power  of  the  Franks. 
Nevertheless  all  the  Germans  looked  proudly  up  to 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  113 

him  as  the  noblest  and  mightiest  of  their  great  kings, 
and  the  glory  of  his  name  spread  far  and  wide  in 
songs  and  tales.  Although  Theodoric  resided  gen- 
erally at  Eavenna,  where  he  died  and  was  buried,  he 
stayed  at  times  with  his  court  at  Verona,  and  is  there- 
fore called  in  the  saga  Dietrich  von  Bern  (Verona), 
especially  as  the  latter  city  was  better  known  to  the 
Germans  than  Eavenna.  His  castle  at  Verona  was 
situated  in  the  old  town  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Adige,  on  the  eminence  where  now  the  citadel 
stands.  The  great  empire  founded  by  Theodoric  was 
destined  to  come  to  an  end  soon  after  his  death,  when 
the  Emperor  Justinian  determined  to  recover  his 
rights  as  sovereign  of  Italy  ;  in  the  war  that  followed, 
Belisarius  and  Narses,  the  famous  generals  of  Justin- 
ian, defeated  and  exterminated  the  Ostrogoths. 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  anachronism  in 
the  saga,  where  Theodoric,  who  was  born  in  455,  and 
Attila,  who  died  in  453,  appear  as  contemporaries. 
Yet  even  apart  from  this  fact  there  are  not  many 
instances  in  which  an  historical  personage  assumes 
upon  the  whole  such  a  radically  different  character 
in  the  popular  traditions  as  Dietrich  does  in  the 
Mbelungen  Lied  and  indeed  in  his  whole  saga-cycle. 
As  no  great  poem  like  the  Nibelungen  Lied  has  grown 
out  of  the  traditions  of  Dietrich,  it  will  be  sufficient 
in  this  place  to  indicate  how  a  king  who,  according  to 
history,  was  almost  always  victorious,  appears  in  the 
saga  as  an  exile  enjoying  the  hospitality  of  Attila. 
This  discrepancy  between  history  and  tradition  can 
be  explained  when  we  assume  that  Dietrich  repre- 


114  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

sents  in  the  latter  not  so  much  his  own  glorious 
career  as  the  destiny  of  his  people.  His  somewhat 
subordinate  position  at  Attila's  court  denotes  the 
submission  to  which  his  race  had  been  forced  by  the 
Huns,  while  the  destruction  of  the  Ostrogothic  Empire 
in  Italy,  although  it  happened  after  Theodoric's  death, 
is  reflected  in  the  saga  in  the  defeat  and. fall  of  his 
heroes.*  From  the  fact  that  Dietrich,  according  to 
tradition,  sojourned  at  Attila's  court,  it  was  natural 
that  he  should  be  drawn  into  the  contest  which  is 
depicted  in  the  second  part  of  the  Mbelungen  Lied. 

Since  Dietrich  is  the  historical  Theodoric,  he  can- 
not from  the  beginning  have  had  a  place  in  the  saga, 
as  it  began  to  be  formed  soon  after  the  destruction 
of  the  Burgundian  realm  in  the  year  437.  But 
when  the  great  king  became  connected  with  the 
then  fluctuating  tradition,  he  could  not  play  a  sec- 
ondary part  in  it,  and  thus  the  last  struggles  in  the 
bloody  conflict  were  decided  by  his  powerful  arm. 
As  Dietrich  came  to  liold  such  a  prominent  position, 
Etzel  was  thrust  into  the  background,  and  conse- 
quently Kriemhild  became  the  central  figure  of 
action.  At  the  same  time  the  defeat  of  the  Burgun- 
dians  began  to  be  considered  in  Germany  as  a  just 
retribution  for  their  murder  of  Siegfried,  and  naturally 
Kriemhild  took  the  part  of  the  avenger,  as  she,  and  not 
Etzel,  had  been  offended.  This  formation  of  the  last 
part  of  the  saga  was  also  fully  in  accordance  with  the 
demands  of  poetic  unity  and  consistency  of  action.f 

*  W.  Miiller  in  Henneberger's  Jahrbuch,  I.  168. 
t  See  Note  2,  p.  292. 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  115 

While  the  phase  of  the  saga  in  which  Krieinhild 
revenges  the  death  of  her  husband  on  her  brothers 
must  date  back  to  an  early  epoch,  the  oldest  evidence 
which  we  possess  of  this  transformation  is  found  not 
a  long  time  before  the  composition  of  the  Nibelungen 
Lied  in  its  present  shape.  Combining  the  report  of 
Saxo  Grammaticus  and  the  anonymous  "  Vita  Canuti " 
(edited  by  Waitz,  1858),  we  find  that  the  Danish  king 
Magnus,  plotting  against  the  life  of  Duke  Kanut  of 
Schleswig,  invited  him  to  an  interview.  The  king's 
messenger  was  a  Saxon  minstrel,  who  knew  of  the 
plot,  but  had  taken  an  oath  not  to  betray  the  secret. 
While  Kauut  rode  with  him  to  meet  Magnus,  the 
minstrel  was  moved  with  compassion  at  the  impend- 
ing fate  of  the  duke ;  yet,  as  he  would  not  break 
his  oath,  he  warned  him  by  repeating  several  times 
a  song  which  treated  of  Kriemhild's  perfidy  towards 
her  brothers.  The  duke  was  regardless  of  the  warn- 
ing, and  met  his  death  on  the  seventh  day  of  Janu- 
ary, 1131.  It  is  evident  from  this  account  that  the 
saga  then  contained  the  story  of  the  revenge  as  it  is 
related  in  the  Nibelungen  Lied ;  and  although  the 
scene  of  the  events  is  in  Denmark,  the  chief  motive  of 
action  is  not  the  treachery  of  Attila,  as  in  the  North- 
ern traditions,  but  the  perfidy  of  his  wife,  as  in  the 
Nibelungen  Lied,  and  her  name  is  not  Gudrun,  but 
Kriemhild.  Yet  at  the  same  time  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  song  was  recited  by  a  Saxon  and  not 
by  a  Northman. 

Of  the  more   important  personages  in  our  poem 
who  have  not  yet  been  referred  to  in  this  section, 


116  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

we  may  mention  the  Margrave  Kiidiger  of  Bechlaren, 
who  forms,  from  a  poetic  point  of  view,  one  of  the 
finest  pictures  in  our  epic.*  Although  Eiidiger  is 
represented  in  the  Nibeiungen  Lied  in  the  garb  of  an 
historical  personage,  he  belongs  by  no  means  to  his- 
tory. He  may  be  a  mere  product  of  poetic  imagina- 
tion or  entirely  a  mythical  figure.  The  latter  opinion 
is  held  by  E.  von  Muth  in  his  interesting  essay  en- 
titled "  Der  Mythus  vom  Markgrafen  Eiideger."  In 
conclusion,  we  may  state  that  Bishop  Pilgrim  of  Pas- 
sau,  who  appears  in  the  Nibelungen  Lied  as  a  brother 
of  Queen  Ute,  is  an  historical  person  who  died  in  the 
year  991.  His  connection  with  our  epic  is  a  striking 
anachronism,  and  was  brought  about  by  another  poem, 
"  Die  Klage  "  (The  Lament),  to  which  we  shall  refer 
hereafter.f 

*  p.  41.  t  p.  130. 


CHAPTER  V. 
I.  THE  MYTHICAL  ELEMENTS  OF  THE  NIBELUNG  STORY 

AND    THEIR    COMBINATION    WITH   THE     SAGA    AND 

HISTORY. — II.  THE  LAMENT.  —  III.  THE  MANU- 
SCRIPTS AND  THE  AUTHORSHIP  OF  THE  NIBE- 
LUNGEN  LIED.  —  IV.  THE  METRE.  —  V.  TRANS- 
LATIONS.—  VI.  GEIBEL'S  BRUNHILD. 

I.  WHEN  we  draw  back  the  thin  veil  of  superficial 
Christianity  which  is  spread  over  the  Mbelungen 
Lied  in  the  form  in  which  it  has  been  transmitted  to 
us ;  when  we  look  beyond  the  surface,  and  unroll  the 
records  of  the  ancient  sagas  and  poems  containing  the 
early  Nibelung  stories, — there  arises,  as  we  have  seen, 
a  grand  picture  before  our  eyes.  We  can  now  perceive 
more  clearly  than  it  would  have  been  possible  from 
the  Nibelungen  Lied  alone,  that  there  are  two  prom- 
inent elements  in  our  saga,  the  mythical  and  the 
historical,  and  that  only  by  the  combination  of  both  a 
true  national  saga  can  be  produced.  Thus  the  Nibe- 
lung story  consists  of  two  parts,  which  primitively 
had  no  connection  with  each  other:  the  first  part, 
the  story  of  Siegfried,  is  the.  outgrowth  of  a  myth ; 


118  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

the  second,_the  destruction  of  the  Burgundians  by 
the  Huns,  is  chiefly  based  on  history.  All  endeavors 
to  explain  the  Nibelung  saga  in  a  purely  mythical 
or  a  purely  historical  sense  have  necessarily  been  in 
vain.  As  it  was  evident  that  the  overthrow  of  the 
royal  house  at  Worms  was  founded  on  an  historical 
event,  attempts  were  made  to  prove  also  an  histori- 
cal Siegfried.  Thus  some  tried  to  identify  Siegfried 
with  the  Rhine-Frank  Sigibert  who  was  assassinated 
on  the  chase  in  a  forest  near  Fulda  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  sixth  century.  The  deed  was  done  at 
the  instigation  of  his  son,  who  coveted  the  power 
and  the  treasures  of  his  father.  Others  endeavored 
to  show  Siegfried's  identity  with  Sigibert,  the  hus- 
band of  Brunehaut  (Brunichild),  who  was  murdered 
in  the  war  against  his  brother  Chilperic  by  the  con- 
trivance of  the  latter's  wife,  Fredegonde,  in  the  year 
575.  Yet  the  mere  similarity  of  their  death  with 
that  of  Siegfried  is  far  from  proving  any  identity 
between  them  and  the  hero  of  our  saga,  as  neither  of 
the  former  shows  any  resemblance  to  the  essential 
characteristics  of  Siegfried,  nor  is  there  any  personage 
in  early  German  history  that  can  be  compared  with 
him.  He  is  neither  Claudius  Civilis  nor  Arminius, 
and  still  less  is  the  combat  between  the  two  hostile 
families  in  the  saga  a  picture  of  the  historical  strife 
between  the  Guelfs  and  Ghibellines.  Whatever  in- 
fluence history  exerted  on  the  Nibelung  traditions 
has  been  sufficiently  indicated  above,  and  thus  the 
following  pages  will  refer  chiefly  to  the  mythical  as- 
pect of  our  saga. 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  119 

The  Siegfried  myth  denotes  the  struggle  between 
light  and  darkness,  day  and  night,  summer  and 
winter.  The  dragon  is  the  thunder-cloud,  which  at 
night,  when  the  sky  is  furrowed  by  lightnings,  seemed 
to  the  early  race  of  men  like  a  fantastic  being  shrouded 
in  flames ;  and  this  circumstance  may  have  suggested 
the  idea  of  a  golden  treasure  guarded  by  the  dark 
monster.  The  sun  myth  also  represented  the  death 
of  the  day  at  sunset,  when  the  sky  is  as  radiant  as  if 
dyed  in  blood.  Again  the  dragon  is  the  winter,  which 
is  vanquished  by  the  beautiful  and  mighty  god  of  sum- 
mer and  of  the  bright  daylight ;  but  the  latter's  tri- 
umph is  of  short  duration,  and  he  is  in  his  turn 
conquered  by  the  powers  of  darkness  and  cold  which 
he  had  formerly  overcome. 

This  same  primitive  idea  which  forms  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Nibelung  myths  is  found  at  a  time  ante- 
rior even  to  the  earliest,  period  of  Teutonic  antiquity, 
at  a  time  when  Central  Asia  was  still  the  common 
home  of  the  whole  Indo-European  race. /'in  their 
original  form  these  myths  were  the  expression  of  a 
people  who  in  childlike  simplicity  gazed  upon  the 
wonders  of  nature,  and  personified,  eulogized,  and 
magnified  the  powers  of  the  universe  which  they  could 
not  comprehend./*  Above  all,  it  was  this  struggle  be- 
tween light  and  darkness  which  attracted  their  wonder- 
ing glance,  and  which  in  later  times  was  transformed 
into  an  heroic  saga  interwoven  with  the  accounts 
of  some  historical  events,  whether  represented  by  the 
heroes  of  the  Mahabharata  or  by  those  of  Firdusi's 
Schahnameh ;  or  by  the  clash  of  arms  before  the  gates 


120  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

of  Troy ;  or  by  Siegfried,  the  sun-youth,  before  whose 
bright  and  piercing  glance  the  murderer  Guttorm 
trembled,*  and  the  Nibelungs,  the  powers  of  the 
misty  darkf  But  as  the  epics  of  the  Hindus,  Per- 
sians, and  Greeks  have  widely  departed  from  their 
pure  source  by  the  impress  of  various  epochs  of  cul- 
ture, the  early  Teutonic  traditions,  and  particularly 
the  Nibelung  sagas,  have  for  the  same  reason  under- 
gone manifold  changes. 

There  are  two  Teutonic  myths  which  throw  light 
on  the  Siegfried  story;  these  are  the  myth  of  Balder 
and  the  myth  of  Frey.  Balder,  the  son  of  Odin  aud 
Frigg,  was  the  god  of  the  summer  sunlight,  the  be- 
loved of  gods  and  men.  He  was  so  fair  and  daz- 
zling in  form  and  features,  that  rays  of  light  seemed 
to  issue  from  him.  His  dwelling  was  called  Breida- 
blick  (the  broad-shining  splendor),  where  nothing 
unclean  could  enter.  The  Younger  EddaJ  relates 
that  he  was  tormented  by  dreams  which  foreboded 
danger  to  his  life.  Thereupon  the  gods  held  counsel 
together,  and  his  mother  Frigg  exacted  an  oath  from 
fire,  water,  iron,  and  all  kinds  of  metal,  stones,  earth, 
trees,  sicknesses,  beasts,  birds,  and  creeping  things, 
that  they  should  not  hurt  Balder.  Then  it  became 
the  pastime  of  Balder  and  the  gods  that  he  should 
stand  up  at  their  assemblies,  while  some  of  them 
would  shoot  at  him,  others  would  hew  at  him;  but 

*  p.  72. 

t  p.  82. 

t  R.  B.  Anderson's  Younger  Edda,  p.  130  ;  see  also  the  same 
author's  Norse  Mythology,  pp.  279-297. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  121 

whatever  they  did,  no  harm  came  to  him.  When 
Loki  saw  this,  it  displeased  him  very  much  that  Bal- 
der was  not  scathed.  So  by  cunning  he  learned  from 
Frigg,  to  whom  he  had  gone  in  the  likeness  of  a 
woman,  that  no  oath  had  been  exacted  from  the  mis- 
tletoe, as  it  seemed  too  young.  Loki  pulled  up  the 
mistletoe,  and  went  to  the  assembly.  There  Balder's 
blind  brother  Hodir  (darkness)  stood  aside  from  the 
others,  but  Loki  placed  the  mistletoe  in  his  hand,  and 
treacherously  told  him  to  shoot  at  Balder.  Hodir 
was  of  tremendous  strength,*  and  without  malice  dis- 
charged the  fatal  dart  at  Balder,  who  was  pierced  by 
it  and  fell  dead  to  the  ground.  The  gods  were  struck 
speechless  with  horror,  but  Odin  took  this  misfortune 
most  to  heart,  since  he  best  comprehended  how  great 
a  loss  and  injury  the  fall  of  the  beautiful  god  was  to 
all  of  them.  His  corpse  was  taken  to  the  ship  Hring- 
horn  in  order  to  be  burned  there ;  and  as  his  wife 
Nanna  beheld  this,  she  died  of  grief,  and  was  burned 
on  the  funeral  pyre  at  the  side  of  her  husband. 

Balder's  death  was  the  sign  of  the  approaching  de- 
struction of  the  gods  and  of  the  world  through  the 
powers  of  evil  and  darkness,  when  the  Fenris-wolf 
swallows  Odin,  and  the  heavens  are  rent  in  twain. 
Thus  the  idea  of  the  struggle  between  the  powers  of 
nature,  as  seen  in  the  seasons  of  the  year,  is  here 
transferred  to  the  mythical  world-year.  The  Voluspa 
(the  vala's  prophecy)  in  the  Elder  Edda  gives  a  very 
fine  description  of  this  destruction  of  the  world,  called 
in  the  Norse  language  "  Eagnarok,"  and  in  the  Ger- 

»  Younger  Edda,  "  The  Fooling  of  Gylfe,"  28. 


122  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

man,  ©otterfcammeritng,  literally,  "  the  twilight  of  the 
gods."  There  is  a  beautiful  chapter  on  the  Bagnarok 
in  Anderson's  Norse  Mythology.  The  overthrow  of 
the  Nibelungs  (Burgundians)  at  Attila's  court  cannot 
be  brought  in  connection  with  the  Ragnarok,  as  the 
second  part  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied  is  mainly  based 
on  history.  Balder  is,  as  has  been  said  before,  the 
god  of  summer,  of  the  summer  sunlight  which  rejoices 
all  beings.  He  cannot  be  hurt  by  any  weapon ;  only 
the  mistletoe,  which  needs  so  little  the  warm  sun  that 
its  fruit  ripens  in  winter,  and  which  grows  on  trees, 
not  upon  the  earth,  can  harm  him.  The  myth 
denotes  the  disappearance  of  the  bright  summer 
and  the  approach  of  winter  with  its  dark  and  long 
nights. 

In  this  connection  we  may  quote  Max  Miiller's 
remarks  on  the  myth  of  Balder.  He  says  :  "  The 
idea  of  a  young  hero,  whether  he  is  called  Balder, 
Siegfried,  Sigurd,  or  Achilles,  dying  in  the  fulness  of 
youth,  —  a  story  so  frequently  told,  localized,  individ- 
ualized,—  was  first  suggested  by  the  sun  dying  in  all 
his  youthful  vigor,  either  at  the  end  of  the  day,  con- 
quered by  the  powers  of  darkness,  or  at  the  end  of 
a  season,  stung  by  the  thorn  of  winter.  Again,  that 
fatal  spell,  by  which  these  sunny  heroes  must  leave 
their  first  love,  become  unfaithful  to  her  or  she  to 
them,  was  borrowed  from  nature.  The  fate  of  these 
solar  heroes  was  inevitable,  and  it  was  their  lot  to 
die  by  the  hand  or  by  the  unwilling  treachery  of 
their  nearest  friends  or  relations.  The  Sun  forsakes 
the  Dawn,  and  dies  at  the  end  of  the  day  according 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  123 

to  an  inexorable  fate,  and  bewailed  by  the  whole  of 
nature.  Or  the  sun  is  the  Sun  of  Spring,  who  wooes 
the  Earth,  and  then  forsakes  his  bride  and  grows  cold, 
and  is  killed  at  last  by  the  thorn  of  Winter." 

Besides  the  story  of  Balder  we  must  consult  the 
myth  of  Frey,  to  be  found  chiefly  in  the  Edda  song 
of  Skirnisfor  (the  journey  of  Skirnir)  and  also  in  the 
Younger  Edda.  Frey  was  the  god  of  fertility,  of 
rain  and  sunshine ;  his  chariot  was  drawn  by  a  boar 
called  Gullinbursti,  whose  golden  bristles  lighted  up 
the  day  like  night.  The  god  once  gazed  down  from 
Odin's  seat  upon  the  worlds,  and  beheld  in  the  North  at 
Jotunheim  (the  home  of  the  giants)  the  maiden  Gerd, 
who  was  of  such  wonderful  beauty  that  both  the  sky 
and  the  sea  glistened  from  the  radiance  of  her  white 
arms.  Frey  was  filled  with  ardent  love  for  her ;  but 
her  father,  the  giant  Gymer,  guarded  her  in  his  dwell- 
ing, surrounded  by  wavering  fire  and  furious  dogs. 
The  god's  messenger  was  called  Skirnir  (the  bright 
one) ;  he  was  sent  for,  and  Frey  asked  him  to  bring 
the  maiden  to  him.  Skirnir  declared  himself  ready 
to  go  if  Frey  would  give  him  his  horse  to  cross  the 
flames,  and  his  sword  which  would  put  itself  in  mo- 
tion against  the  giants.  Frey  gave  him  the  horse 
and  the  enchanted  sword  ;  this  is  the  reason  why  he 
found  himself  unarmed  when  he  fought  with  Beli 
(Gerd's  brother)  and  slew  him  with  a  hart's  horn. 
Yet  he  found  himself  in  a  terrible  plight  when  at  the 
Ragnarok  he  faced  Surt  (swart)  in  single  combat,  and 
then  he  sorely  missed  his  trusty  blade.  Skirner 
overcame  all  obstacles  on  Frey's  steed ;  the  whole  of 


124  THE  GREAT  EPICS   OF 

Jotunheim  trembled  under  its  hoofs,  and  he  pene- 
trated to  Gerd's  dwelling,  where,  after  much  resistance 
on  the  part  of  the  maiden,  he  obtained  in  the  end 
her  promise  that  after  nine  nights  she  would  marry 
Frey. 

Frey  is  the  sun-god  ;  the  boar  with  golden  bristles 
is  the  symbol  of  the  sun.  Skirnir  represents  the  god 
who  himself  in  an  older  form  of  the  myth  undertook 
the  journey.  He  freed  the  maiden  from  the  powers 
of  darkness  by  slaying  the  monster  that  guarded 
her  and  by  crossing  the  flame  wall  which  surrounded 
her.  Gerd  is  the  earth  held  in  bonds  by  the  frost 
giants,  that  is,  by  snow  and  ice  in  winter.  The 
god's  sword  is  the  sunbeam,  which  he  surrenders  to 
obtain  the  possession  of  Gerd;  or,  in  other  words, 
the  glowing  sun  penetrates  the  earth  and  frees  it 
from  the  power  of  the  frost  giants.  Beli  (the  barker) 
and  the  furious  dogs  are  the  roaring  storms.  The 
wavering  fire  surrounding  Gerd's  dwelling  (and  Bryn- 
hild's  castle)  denotes  the  burning  funeral  pyre,  as 
J.  Grimm  has  shown;  the  earth  in  winter  is,  as  it 
were,  lifeless,  and  therefore  belongs  to  the  funeral 
pyre  and  thus  to  the  powers  of  the  lower  world.  It 
was  customary  to  intertwine  the  funeral  pyre  with 
thorns  and  to  light  it  with  a  thorn ;  we  see  now 
what  is  meant  when  Odin  pricks  Brynhild  with  the 
sleep-thorn  and  she  falls  into  death-like  sleep.  A 
relic  of  the  myth  appears  in  the  charming  fairy  story 
of  the  "  Sleeping  Beauty "  (Dornroschen).  It  is  re- 
markable that  the  name  of  the  infernal  river  Ilvpt- 
eOav  has  the  same  meaning  as  the  wavering  fire ; 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  125 

the  way  to  the  lower  world  leads  through  the  glow- 
ing funeral  pyre.* 

In  comparing  the  myth  of  Frey  with  the  Northern 
Sigurd  saga,  we  find  that  they  agree  substantially  in 
some  of  the  most  important  incidents,  and  that  the 
slaying  of  the  dragon  and  the  ride  through  the  flame 
wall  are  but  different  expressions  of  the  same  mythical 
idea.f  Sigurd  is  identical  with  Frey  and  Skirnir, 
and  Brynhild  with  Gerd.  As  has  been  said  above, 
in  an  earlier  version  of  the  myth  Frey  undertakes 
the  journey  to  Jotunheim,  and  he  thus  corresponds  to 
Sigurd,  who  first  frees  Brynhild  for  himself.  After- 
wards Sigurd,  coming  to  Brynhild  in  the  likeness  of 
Gunnar,  is  identical  with  Skirnir,  who  wooes  the 
maiden  for  his  master.  Yet  the  myth  of  Frey  ex- 
plains only  the  first  part  of  the  Sigurd  story,  while 
the  second  part  of  the  latter,  Sigurd's  death,  finds  its 
explanation  in  the  myth  of  Balder.  The  death  of 
Balder  is  foreshadowed  by  his  ill-boding  dreams,  with 
which  we  may  compare  Kriemhild's  dream  in  the 
Nibelungen  Lied,  where  Siegfried  appears  to  her  as  a 
falcon,  whose  form  only  the  gods  were  wont  to  as- 
sume, while  the  eagles  represent  the  winter  giants. 
The  myth  of  Frey  and  that  of  Balder  are  nearly  re- 
lated to  each  other;  only,  as  Karl  Steiger  correctly 
says,  "  the  arrangement  and  the  conclusion  are  differ- 
ent: in  the  one  the  main  thought  is,  as  it  were,  'joy 
after  sorrow  ; '  in  the  other,  '  sorrow  after  joy.'  The 
tale  of  Balder  begins  with  the  complete  sway  of  light ; 

*  Die  Nibelungensage  von  Dr.  E.  Koch,  pp.  66,  67. 
t  R.  von  Muth,  p.  61. 


126  THE  GEE  AT   EPICS   OF 

and  leads  us  from  victory  and  glory  to  lamentation 
and  death ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  myth  of  Frey  begins 
with  the  sway  of  the  dark  powers,  and  leads  through 
strife  to  the  final  victory  of  the  god  and  to  his  mar- 
riage." *  It  is  very  probable  that  a  myth  combining 
the  chief  incidents  of  the  stories  of  Frey  and  Balder 
was  originally  ascribed  to  Odin,  and  thus  the  Mbe- 
lung  saga  would  be  founded  on  a  myth  of  the  chief 
of  the  Teutonic  gods,  Siegfried  being  identical  with 
Odin.  E.  von  Muth  has  treated  the  question  in  a 
very  interesting  mariner  in  his  "Einleitung  in  das 
Mbelungen  Lied,"  on  pages  68,  69,  and  70.  The 
myths  at  first  gave  expression  only  to  the  wonderful 
phenomena  of  nature,  which  were  afterwards  person- 
ified and  endowed  with  human  thoughts  and  feelings. 
While  they  were  thus  interpreted  in  an  ethical  sense, 
and  the  principle  of  good  and  evil  was  introduced 
in  the  Mbelung  sagas  and  epics,  a  powerful  motive 
was  furnished  for  the  composition  of  a  grand  tragedy. 
What  has  been  said  on  the  preceding  pages  will  be 
sufficient  to  show  the  original  purport  of  the  myths, 
and  the  general  resemblance  between  the  latter  and 
the  saga.  The  relation  between  the  two,  so  far  as 
details  and  intricate  points  are  concerned,  has  been 
zealously  investigated  and  much  discussed  by  promi- 
nent German  scholars,  but  no  certain  conclusions  of 
an  absolutely  scientific  value  have  as  yet  been 
gained. 

We  may  now  repeat  the  principal  points  shown 

*  Die  verschiedenen  Gestaltungen  der  Siegfriedsage,  etc.,  von 
Karl  Steiger,  p.  40. 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  127 

on  the  preceding  pages,  and  see  how  the  composition 
of  the  Nibelungen  Lied  took  place.  It  has  been 
said  above  that  the  Mbelung  saga  consists  of  two 
parts,  which  at  first  were  not  connected  with  each 
other ;  the  first  part,  the  story  of  Siegfried,  is  based 
on  a  myth,  while  the  second  part,  the  destruction 
of  the  Burgundians  by  the  Huns,  is  mainly  founded 
on  historical  events.  It  has  also  been  indicated 
that  the  myth  originally  denoted  the  struggle  be- 
tween light  and  darkness,  day  and  night,  summer 
and  winter,  and  that  later  the  powers  of  nature  were 
personified,  and  thus  the  principle  of  good  and  evil 
was  introduced.  The  myth  became  then  changed 
into  a  hero-saga,  and  was  combined  and  blended  with 
the  saga  of  the  Burgundians,  whose  king  Gundicar 
was  slain,  with  thousands  of  his  followers,  by  the 
Huns  under  the  Roman  general  Aetius  in  the  year 
437.  This  combination  was  brought  about  by  the 
Franks,  which  is  apparent  from  the  fact  that  the 
earliest  evidences  of  the  name  "  Nibelung  "  as  an  his- 
torical appellation  are  Frankish.  The  Burgundian 
kings  are  called  Frauci  Nebulones  in  Waltharius,  and 
Ehiue-Franks  in  Biterolf  and  in  the  Lament ;  more- 
over the  word  "Nibelung"  (Nivelongus  or  Nivelo) 
occurs  as  an  historical  name  of  Frankish  princes  in 
documents  of  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries.  It  has 
been  pointed  out  before  that  the  Northern  traditions 
attributing  Attila's  death  to  his  wife  are  in  accordance, 
if  not  with  strictly  historical  truth,  at  least  with  the 
popular  opinions  that  prevailed  soon  after  he  died. 
In  Germany  the  events  which  took  place  from  the 


128  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

year  437  to  about  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century- 
were  transformed  into  sagas,  and  then  combined  and 
blended,  while  the  introduction  of  Dietrich  in  this 
fluctuating  tradition,  and  probably  also  the  destruction 
of  the  second  Burgundian  realm  by  the  Franks,  to- 
gether with  the  demands  of  poetic  unity  and  con- 
sistency of  action,  brought  about  such  a  formation 
of  the  NYbelung  story  as  appears  in  the  second  part 
of  our  epic.  The  transformation  and  blending  of  the 
different  saga-cycles  were  particularly  favored  by  the 
decay  of  paganism  in  Germany,  as  those  songs  which 
contained  a  mythological  element  were  gradually 
deprived  of  their  mythic  garb  and  easily  blended 
with  the  saga-lore,  whose  foundation  lay  in  historical 
events.  The  Nibelung  saga  was  known  in  the  North 
as  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century,  as 
is  proved  by  Anglo-Saxon  works  and  especially  by 
the  "  Traveller."  In  Germany  the  story  was  written 
down  in  Latin  by  Konrad,  the  scribe  of  Pilgrim  of 
Passau  (971-991).  The  old  epic  songs  which  form 
the  foundation  of  the  saga  were  revived  in  a  new 
form,  and  attained  great  celebrity  during  the  famous 
epoch  of  the  Hungarian  wars  under  Henry  III.  (1039 
-1056),  and  again  at  the  beginning  of  the  glorious 
era  of  the  Hohenstaufen  emperors,  when  during  the 
crusades  German  chivalry  became  acquainted  with 
the  wonders  of  the  East.  The  Nibelungen  Lied  in 
the  form  in  which  it  has  been  transmitted  to  us  ex- 
isted about  the  year  1200  (ten  years  after  the  death  of 
Frederick  Barbarossa),  as  is  seen  from  an  allusion  to  our 
poem  in  the  eighth  book  of  Wolfram's  "  Parzival." 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  129 

The  Nibelung  saga  has  never  perished,  but,  having 
passed  through  new  transformations  by  the  impress 
of  various  epochs  of  culture,  it  lives  even  at  the 
present  day  in  songs  and  popular  tales.  As  we  have 
already  alluded  to  the  fact  that  on  the  isles  of  Faroe 
the  Nibelung  story  is  still  in  the  hearts  and  on  the 
lips  of  its  inhabitants,  we  may  now  mention  that 
some  of  the  transformations  of  the  saga  are  very 
curious,  and  show  how  in  the  course  of  time  it  can 
be  changed,  after  the  true  understanding  of  its  prim- 
itive meaning  has  been  lost.  Thus  in  the  chronicle 
of  the  Danish  island  of  Hven  the  murderer  Hagen, 
who  is  taken  for  a  member  of  a  native  family,  is  por- 
trayed as  a  noble  and  lofty-minded  hero,  while  Sieg- 
fried, supposed  to  have  been  a  foreigner,  appears  there 
as  a  weak  and  faithless  character.  The  people  among 
whom  a  saga  was  developed  naturally  took  the  part 
of  their  national  heroes,  or  of  those  whom  they  im- 
agined to  be  of  their  own  race.  This  national  or 
political  partiality  is  also  seen  in  the  Nibelungen 
Lied  in  the  combat  with  the  Bavarians. 

As  the  words  which  were  spoken  three  thousand 
years  ago  .by  the  singers  of  the  Veda  hymns  on  the 
shores  of  the  Indus  and  Ganges  are  still  alive  in  vari- 
ous forms  in  different  languages,  so  the  Nibelung 
saga  still  exists  in  a  great  number  of  fairy  tales, 
although  in  a  form  very  different  from  the  original. 
Eeference  has  been  made  to  the  well-known  favorite 
of  German  folk-lore,  "  The  Sleeping  Beauty,"  who  is 
no  other  than  the  sleeping  Brynhild  surrounded  by 
the  wavering  fire.  The  primitive  meaning  of  the 


130  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

sleep-thorn  had  become  unintelligible,  and  in  the 
fairy  story  was  changed  to  a  spindle.  Many  legends 
of  the  Christian  Church  are  also  derived  from  the 
Nibelung  saga.  Thus  St.  George  slaying  the  dragon 
is  Siegfried  in  another  form. 

II.  The  manuscripts  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied  con- 
tain also  a  poem,  called  from  its  contents  "  Die  Klage  " 
(The  Lament),  which  belongs  to  the  class  of  court 
epics.*     The  heroes  who  had  escaped  the  slaughter 
at  Attila's  court  bewail  the  death  of  their  friends  and 
kindred.     At  the  same  time  their   deeds   are  again 
related  and  eulogized.     Dietrich,  beholding  Kriem- 
hild's  corpse,  breaks  out  in  praises  of  the  great  beauty 
of  the  unfortunate  queen,  while  Etzel  is  nearly  mad- 
dened with  grief.     Brunhild  receives  at  Worms  the 
mournful  tidings  of  Kriemhild's  dread  revenge,  and 
Queen   Ute   dies   soon    after,  broken-hearted.      The 
poem  has  very  little  value  from  an  artistic  point  of 
view,  but  it   is   important   as   it  tells   at  the   end 
that  Bishop  Pilgrim  of  Passau  (971-991)  caused  the 
Nibelung  story  to  be  written  down  in  Latin  by  his 
scribe  Konrad.-f*     The  author  of  the  Lament  knew 
some  songs  that  have  been  lost  to  us,  yet  he  did  not 
know  the  first  part  of  our  Nibelungen  Lied. 

III.  Our  epic   enjoyed  at  first  very  great  popu- 
larity, and  was  widely  known  during  the  thirteenth 
century ;  but  with  the  decline  of  the  empire  and  the 
degeneration  of  chivalry  in  the  fourteenth   century, 
the  interest  in  this  great  national  treasure  began  to 
diminish,  and  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  it 

*  See  Introduction.  t  Cf.   Pilgrim  on  p.  116. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  131 

had  fallen  into  almost  complete  oblivion.  Thus,  while 
Parzival  and  Titurel  and  some  inferior  poems  of  the 
German  hero-saga  were  among  the  first  works  that 
were  printed,  the  Nibelungen  Lied  was  doomed  to 
remain  in  obscurity.  The  noble  emperor  Maximilian 
I.  (1493-1519)  who  is  still  remembered  in  Ger- 
many as  "  der  letzte  Bitter,"  was  also  the  last  who 
took  a  lively  interest  in  our  poem.  The  beautiful 
and  costly  parchment  manuscript  d*  which  is  at  the 
same  time  the  only  one  containing  the  text  of  Gu- 
drun  and  Biterolf,  was  written  at  his  order.  The 
historians  of  the  sixteenth  century,  as  Wolfgang 
Lazius  (1514-1565),  Caspar  Bruschius  (1518-1559), 
and  a  few  others,  were  still  acquainted  with  the  Nibe- 
lungen Lied,  yet  they  lacked  the  right  understanding 
of  it,  and  treated  it  chiefly  as  an  historical  work, 
describing,  as  they  thought,  the  wars  of  the  Germans 
in  the  tenth  century.  In  this  place  we  may  also 
refer  to  the  tragedy  of  the  famous  mastersinger  Hans 
Sachs,  "  Der  Hoernen  Seyfried,"  of  the  year  1557,  in 
which  Siegfried  is  killed  near  the  well  during  his 
sleep ;  thus  the  Northern  and  German  accounts  of 
his  death  are  here  combined. 

The  Nibelungen  Lied,  after  having  been  almost 
entirely  forgotten  for  several  centuries,  was  at  last 
rescued  from  this  undeserved  fate  when  the  Swiss 
professor,  Johann  Jacob  Bodmer,  discovered  a  manu- 
script (C)  of  our  poem  at  the  castle  of  Hohenems  in 
the  Grisons  in  the  year  1757.  He  published  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  manuscript,  beginning  with  stanza 
»  p.  137. 


132  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

1583  *  (towards  the  close  of  the  twenty-sixth  adven- 
ture), under  the  title  of  "  Chriemhilden  Rache  und  die 
Klage  "  (Kriemhild's  Revenge  and  the  Lament).  Bod- 
mer's  edition  met  with  a  somewhat  cool  reception ; 
indeed  there  were  but  few  whose  attention  it  engaged, 
and  even  they,  like  Lessing,  took  merely  a  slight  and 
passing  notice  of  the  work.  The  next  publication 
was  made  twenty-five  years  later,  in  1782,  by  C.  H. 
Mliller,  professor  at  the  Joachimsthal  Gymnasium  in 
Berlin.  He  had  applied  for  a  copy  of  the  poem  to 
Bodmer,  and  the  latter  received  from  Hohenems  a 
manuscript,  which,  however,  was  not  the  same  (C) 
that  had  been  used  by  him  before,  but  another  (A). 
Miiller  then  published  his  edition,  the  text  of  which 
was  taken  from  manuscript  A  to  stanza  1583,  while 
the  remainder  was  reprinted  from  C  (Bodmer's  edi- 
tion). On  account  of  a  wrong  statement  of  Miiller, 
many  years  elapsed  before  it  was  ascertained  that 
Miiller's  publication  was  based  on  a  mixed  text. 
Jacob  Grimm  was  the  first  who  (in  1807)  declared 
that  Miiller  must  have  used  two  different  manuscripts. 
Neither  Bodmer's  nor  Miiller's  edition  contained  the 
division  into  stanzas. 

The  interest  in  Mediaeval  German  poetry  evidently 
began  to  increase  about  the  year  1782,  as  appears 
from  the  fact  that  Miiller  was  supported  in  his  pur- 
pose of  publishing  the  work  by  many  persons  of  in- 
fluence and  high  standing ;  and  besides  his  edition 
of  the  Nibelungen  Lied  was  dedicated  to  Frederick 
the  Great  of  Prussia  with  the  king's  permission. 
*  Or,  in  Zarncke's  fifth  edition,  p.  251,  4. 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  133 

Nevertheless  our  epic  was  still  far  from  being  fully 
appreciated.     It  is   true   that   when   Frederick  had 
granted  the  dedication  of  the  poem  to  him  the  royal 
secretary  addressed  a  courteous  letter  (December  15, 
1780)  to  Miiller,  and  again,  when  the  dedicatory  copy 
was  received,  it  drew   forth  a  very  favorable  reply 
(October  31,  1782) ;  but  later  (February  22,  1784) 
Frederick  wrote  his  well-known  letter,  in  which  he 
strongly  and  in  unflattering  terms  expressed  his  utter 
contempt  of  the  work.     It  is  probable  that  the  king 
had  then  read  the  poem  for  the  first  time,  or  he  may 
merely  have  been  in  one  of  his  ungracious  moods. 
At  all  events  too  much  importance  has  been  attached 
to  this  letter,  and  on  the  other  hand  Frederick  can- 
not be  greatly  blamed  for  his  lack  of  appreciation  of 
our  epic  nor  for  his  predilection  for  French  literature. 
His  partiality  for  the  latter  he  still  shared  with  many 
of  his  countrymen ;  it  was  only  about  fifty  years  be- 
fore that  time  that  Bodmer  (1698-1783)  had  first,  in 
1721,  attacked  Gottsched  (1700-1766)  and  his  slavish 
preference  for  French  authors,  while  Lessing,  who 
died  in  1781,  had  just  struck  the  first  mighty  blow 
to  free  German  literature   from   the  French  yoke. 
Yet  Bodmer,  although  he  issued  the  first  edition  of 
a  portion  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  had  himself  little 
confidence  in  the  final  success  of  the  revival  of  early 
German  poetry,  nor  did   Lessing,  as  we  have  said 
before,  pay  any  great  attention  to  our  epic.     Even  at 
a  somewhat  later  period  Goethe  did  not  read  the 
copy  that  Miiller  had  sent  him,  while  it  is  at  least 
very   doubtful   if   Schiller  ever  perused  the   book, 


134  THE   GREAT   EPICS  OF 

although  he  had  received  it  from  the  library  of  the 
University  of  Jena,  and  had  it  in  his  possession  from 
August,  1800,  to  September,  1801. 

Among  the  men  who  at  that  time  took  an  earnest 
and  lively  interest  in  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  we  must 
mention,  besides  the  historian  Johannes  von  Miiller 
(1752-1809),  who  in  1783  and  1786  called  the  at- 
tention of  the  educated  public  to  our  poem,  Johann 
Heinrich  Voss  (1751-1826),  the  famous  translator 
of  Homer,  who  read  the  Nibelungen  Lied  with  his 
pupils  at  the  Gymnasium  of  Eutin  in  the  grand  duchy 
of  Oldenburg.  But  the  great  wave  of  genuine  pop- 
ular enthusiasm  broke  forth  when  the  so-called  ro- 
mantic school  of  literature  took  hold  of  our  epic,  and 
has  ever  since  been  rolling  onward.  August  Wilhelm 
Schlegel  (1767-1845),  by  his  lectures  at  Berlin  in 
1802  and  1803,  contributed  not  a  little  to  replace  the 
great  national  heirloom  on  the  lofty  pedestal  from 
which  it  had  fallen  through  the  indifference  and 
misery  of  preceding  centuries.  At  the  same  time  the 
people,  oppressed  by  Napoleon's  tyranny,  had  come 
to  look  with  longing  eyes  upon  the  treasures  of 
the  past,  and  were  led  to  remember  the  glorious  era 
when  Europe  bowed  before  the  sceptre  of  the 
German  emperors.  The  heroes  of  olden  times  were 
held  up  as  models  for  the  present,  and  served  to 
inspire  the  nation  with  a  new  vitality  and  the  irre- 
sistible resolution  to  break  the  chains  with  which 
the  foreign  conqueror  had  bound  them,  as  before 
they  had  begun  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  literary 
dependence. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  135 

Among  those  who  listened  to  Schlegel's  lectures 
was  Friedrich  Heinrich  von  der  Hagen  (1780-1856), 
who  then  was  aroused  to  a  sincere  and  lasting  enthu- 
siasm for  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  and  who  zealously, 
although  not  always  with  critical   discernment,  de- 
voted the  best  part  of  his  life  to  the  study  of  the 
poem.     Five  editions,  two  translations,  a  commentary, 
and  several  other  works  bear  witness  to  his  great 
industry  in  the  field  of  Nibelung  Literature.     Ludwig 
Tieck  (1773-1853),  one  of  the  founders   of  the  ro- 
mantic school,  was   engaged  in  1805  in   translating 
our  epic.     Goethe  also  became  more  interested  in  it, 
and  in  1807  and  1809  read  an  "improvised  transla- 
tion of  it  to  a  select  circle  of  ladies."     At  Konigsberg 
K.  Besseldt  delivered,  in  1814,  eight  lectures  on  the 
Nibelungen  Lied  "  before  an  interesting  assembly  of 
the  most  cultured  ladies  and  gentlemen."     This  fur- 
nished an  opportunity  to  the  well-known   dramatic 
author,  August  von   Kotzebue  (1761-1819),  —  who, 
although  a  native  of  Weimar,  was  yet  most  unpatriotic 
and  a  Eussian  spy,  —  to  write  in  disparagement  of  the 
Nibelungen  Lied.     His  scornful  opinions  were  not 
worth  the  opposition  which  they  aroused,  and  they 
were  soon  buried  in  well-deserved  oblivion.     He  died 
in  1819  at  Mannheim  from  the  dagger  of  the  pure 
and  noble-minded   but  too  passionate  Karl  Ludwig 
Sand,  a  student  of  theology  at  Jena,  who,  teeming 
with  a  fervent  love  of  his  country,  thought  thus  to 
revenge  the  scorn  and  the  insults  which  Kotzebue 
had  heaped  on  the  German  students  in  particular, 
and  on  German  freedom  in  general. 


136  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

When,  in  1815,  the  war  against  Napoleon  broke  out 
anew,  August  Zeune  published  an  edition  of  the 
Nibelungen  Lied,  which  is  of  no  great  scientific 
value,  as  it  was  based  mainly  on  Yon  der  Hagen's 
edition  of  1810,  and  the  latter  was  chiefly  founded 
on  Miiller's  mixed  text.  Yet  it  is  interesting  to 
notice  that  Zeune's  edition  was  destined  especially 
for  the  students  in  the  army  (Feld-und  Zeltausgabe), 
who  carried  it  with  them  in  the  French  campaign ; 
and  that,  moreover,  one  of  those  students  was  Karl 
Lachmann  (1793-1851),  who,  in  the  following  year 
(1816),  distinguished  himself  by  his  essay  "  On  the 
Original  Form  of  the  Poem  of  the  Nibelungs'  Dis- 
tress." *  Lachmann,  after  1825  Professor  at  the 
University  of  Berlin,  was  soon  recognized  as  the  most 
eminent  scholar  in  the  whole  department  of  Nibelung 
literature,  and  he  retained  this  high  rank  among  the 
learned  to  the  end  of  his  life.  In  the  year  1826 
appeared  his  edition  of  the  poem  which  was  based 
on  manuscript  A.  It  was  followed,  in  1829,  by  his 
"  Kritik  der  Sage ; "  and  the  latter  was  reprinted  in 
1836,  and  formed  a  part  (pages  333-349)  of  a  volume 
entitled  "Zu  den  Nibelungen  und  zur  Klage:  An- 
merkungen  von  K.  L"  Here  he  laid  down  his  views 
as  to  the  manner  in  which  our  epic  originated  and 
was  composed.  Lachmarm's  investigations  concern- 
ing the  Nibelungen  Lied,  and  his  untiring  zeal,  can 
hardly  be  overvalued,  although  one  may  not  always 
agree  with  him  in  regard  to  some  of  the  conclusions 
at  which  he  arrived. 

*  p.  140. 


MEDIAEVAL    GERMANY.  13T 

Since  the  year  1757  twenty-eight  manuscripts  of 
our  epic  have  been  discovered,  of  which  some  are 
complete  in  themselves,  or  nearly  so,  while  others 
are  mere  fragments.  After  Lachmann's  example, 
the  German  scholars  designate  the  parchment  manu- 
scripts of  the  thirteenth  and -fourteenth  centuries  by 
capitals  ;  while  all  others,  whether  written  on  parch- 
ment or  on  paper,  are  denoted  by  small  letters.  All 
these  manuscripts  may  be  classified  in  at  least  three 
divisions,  which  deviate  more  or  less  from  each  other, 
both  as  to  the  text  and  as  to  the  number  of  stanzas 
in  our  epic.  These  divisions  are  represented  by 
the  manuscript  A,  which  stands  alone  by  itself, 
and  by  two  groups  of  manuscripts  whose  chief  rep- 
resentatives are  B  and  C.  The  manuscript  A  con- 
tains the  shortest  text  (2316  stanzas),  while  B,  which 
is  generally  called  the  "  common  text,"  or  the  "  Vul- 
gata,"  as  most  manuscripts  are  based  on  it,  numbers 
2376,  and  C  has  2440  stanzas.  The  manuscripts  A 
and  B,  with  the  group  represented  by  the  latter,  are 
furthermore  distinguished  from  C,  and  the  manu- 
scripts based  on  it,  by  the  last  line  of  the  poem, 
which  reads  in  the  former,  "  Ditze  ist  der  Nibelunge 
not"  (This  is  the  Nibelungs'  distress),  and  in  the 
latter,  "Daz  ist  der  Nibelunge  liet"  (This  is  the 
lay  of  the  Nibelungs).  From  what  has  just  been 
indicated,  and  from  what  will  be  said  hereafter,  it  is 
evident  that  A,  B,  and  C,  are  the  most  important 
manuscripts. 

The  manuscript  A,  of  the  second  half  of  the  thir- . 
teenth  century,  was  formerly  at  Hohenems,  whence 


138  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

Bodmer  received  it  for  C.  H.  Miiller.*  By  far  the 
greater  part  of  it  is  written  by  two  different  hands, 
in  a  hasty  and  careless  manner.  In  1807  it  belonged 
to  Professor  M.  Schuster,-  of  Prague,  and  in  1810  it 
came  into  the  possession  of  the  royal  library  at 
Munich,  where  it  still  is  (cod.  germ.  34).  Lachmanu's 
editions  (of  1826,  1841, 1851,  and  1867)  are  based  on 
this  manuscript. 

The  manuscript  B,  of  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  belonged  once  to  the  Counts  of  Werden- 
berg  (near  Hohenems),  afterwards  to  the  historian 
Aegidius  Tschudi  (1505-1572),  and  since  1773  has 
been  at  the  library  of  the  once  famous  Abbey  of 
Sanct  Gallen  in  Switzerland.  Von  der  Hagen  took 
the  text  of  B  as  the  basis  for  his  editions  of  1816  and 
1820.  Professor  Karl  Bartsch  published  a  very  valu- 
able edition  founded  on  this  manuscript,  in  the  year 
1870,  which  shows  also  the  different  readings  and  the 
additional  stanzas  of  C. 

The  manuscript  C,  of  the  first  half  of  the  thir- 
teenth century,  evidently  written  with  great  care 
and  accuracy,  was,  as  has  been  said  above,  the  first 
manuscript  of  our  poem  that  was  discovered  (in 
1757),  and  was  found  at  Hohenems  by  Bodmer.f  It 
was  offered  for  sale  at  Vienna  in  1814  and  1815, 
during  the  Congress  in  the  latter  city,  and  came  very 
near  being  purchased  by  the  Imperial  Court  Library. 
Jacob  Grimm,  who  was  then  at  Vienna,  had  posses- 
sion of  the  manuscript  for  a  few  days,  and  made  an 
extract  of  it ;  his  investigations  were  published  in 
*  p.  132.  t  p.  131. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  139 

1815  in  "Altdeutsche  Walder  II.,  145-180."      In 

1816  the  manuscript  was  owned  by  Freiherr  von 
Lassberg,  and   since    1855    it  has   belonged  to  the 
library  of  the  princely  house  of  Fiirstenberg  at  Do- 
naueschingen  (in  the  grand  Duchy  of  Baden). 

Freiherr  von  Lassberg  published  an  exact  copy  of 
this  manuscript  in  1821,  which  was  reprinted  in  1846. 
As  the  original  manuscript  at  Donaueschingen  is  not 
very  easy  of  access,  Lassberg's  publication  is  very  im- 
portant, and  the  best  editions,  those  of  Adolf  Holtz- 
mann  (1857)  and  of  Friedrich  Zarncke  (fifth  edition, 
1875),  are  based  on  it. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  our  purpose  to  refer  particu- 
larly to  the  remaining  twenty-five  manuscripts,  of 
which  a  few  are  almost  worthless.  Yet  we  may  state 
that  A,  B,  and  D  (the  latter  in  the  royal  library  of 
Munich,  cod.  germ.  31)  are  complete ;  seven  others, 
and  among  them  C,  are  nearly  so,  while  the  remain- 
der are  fragments,  and  altogether  contain  hardly  one 
fourth  of  the  whole  epic.  A  few  manuscripts  present 
a  mixed  text,  as  in  the  beginning  they  follow  C  and 
afterwards  B,  while  several  others  form  a  transition 
group,  since  they  contain  the  text  of  the  group  whose 
representative  is  B,  and  they  have  besides  twenty 
additional  stanzas  of  C.  In  this  connection  we  may 
also  indicate  that  none  of  our  manuscripts  contains 
the  original  text  of  the  poem,  but  that  all  of  them 
are  more  or  less  remote  from  it.  Moreover  a  manu- 
script which'was  evidently  written  at  an  earlier  epoch 
than  another  does  not  therefore  necessarily  present  an 
earlier  text,  as  on  the  other  hand  it  is  possible  that 


140  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

a  manuscript  of  a  later  date  may  be  based  on  an 
older  text  than  a  manuscript  belonging  to  an  earlier 
time. 

There  has  been  and  still  is  a  great  difference  of 
opinion  among  German  scholars,  not  only  as  to  which 
one  of  the  manuscripts  exhibits  the  earliest  form  of 
our  epic,  but  also  whether  the  epic  is  the  creation 
of  a  real  poet  who  took  only  the  subject-matter  from 
the  ancient  sagas  and  lays,  or  whether  it  presents 
merely  several  ancient  .and  popular  poems  of  un- 
known authors,  which  at  first  had  no  connection  with 
each  other,  and  were  later  united  by  a  mere  com- 
piler into  a  whole  poem.  When  Friedrich  August 
Wolf  (1759-1824),  professor  at  Halle,  endeavored  to 
show  that  the  Homeric  poems  were  not  the  work  of 
one  poet  (of  Homer),  but  formed  a  collection  of  differ- 
ent hero-songs  of  great  antiquity,  the  same  theory  was 
applied  to  the  Nibelungen  Lied  by  Professor  Lach- 
mann  of  Berlin.  Lachmann,  after  comparing  the 
manuscripts  which  were  known  at  his  time,*  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  shortest  text,  as  found  in  A, 
was  the  earliest,  and  that  from  it  came  by  additions 
and  corrections  first  B,  and  then  C,  while  A  had 
sprung  in  a  similar  manner  from  the  original  work, 
that  is,  from  the  songs  referred  to  above.  Further- 
more he  was  convinced  that  our  epic  was  originally 
composed  of  twenty  lays,  some  of  which  were  followed 
by  continuations.  In  his  editions  since  1841  these 
twenty  lays  with  their  continuations  are  distinguished 

*  The  manuscripts  found  since  are  not  of  very  great  importance 
for  the  critique  of  the  text.  • 


MEDIEVAL    GERMANY.  141 

in  print  from  the  remainder  of  the  poem,  that  is,  from 
those  stanzas  which  he  considered  to  be  later  addi- 
tions, and  therefore  not  original  and  genuine.  In 
1840,  on  the  occasion  of  the  four  hundredth  anniver- 
sary of  the  invention  of  printing,  the  twenty  lays 
appeared  in  a  "  Prachtausgabe." 

Lachmann's  view  in  regard  to  the  manuscript  A,  as 
exhibiting  the  earliest  known  text,  was  accepted  dur- 
ing his  life  by  all  scholars,  including  even  those  who 
rejected  his  theory  of  the  composition  of  the  poem, 
that  is,  of  the  twenty  lays.  Jacob  Grimm  firmly 
believed  in  the  unity  of  the  work.  Wilhelm  Grimm 
adhered  substantially  to  the  same  opinion,  although 
he  admitted  that  some  particular  parts  of  our  epic 
might  have  been  inserted  from  ancient  songs.  In 
this  connection  we  refer  to  the  correspondence  be- 
tween Lachmann  and  Wilhelm  Grimm  during  1820 
and  1821,*  which  bears  evidence  of  the  strict  honesty 
and  remarkable  scholarship  with  which  both  men  had 
arrived  at  their  conclusions. 

It  was  three  years  after  Lachmann's  death  (1851) 
that  his  opinion  concerning  the  manuscript  A  was 
attacked  for  the  first  time.  This  was  done  by  Adolf 
Holtzmann,  professor  at  the  University  of  Heidelberg, 
in  his  "  Untersuchungen  iiber  das  Nibelungen  Lied, 
Stuttgart,  1854."  Holtzmann,  by  comparing  the  man- 
uscripts endeavored  to  prove  that  C  contained  the 
earliest  text,  and  that  B,  and  then  A,  had  sprung  from 
it  through  omissions  and  changes.  Thus  the  manner 
in  which  Holtzmann  viewed  the  relation  of  the  three 

«  Edited  by  Zacher. 


142  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

manuscripts  to  each  other  was  exactly  the  contrary 
of  Lachmami's  theory, 

On  the  preceding  pages  and  in  the  Notes  referring 
to  this  subject  *  the  attempt  has  been  made  to  give  at 
least  an  impartial  and  correct  outline  of  the  different 
theories  of  the  leading  German  scholars  on  the  manu- 
scripts and  the  authorship  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied. 
As  has  been  indicated,  it  would  have  required  much 
more  space  than  can  be  given  here,  to  treat  the  sub- 
ject fully  in  each  particular  aspect,  and  to  do  justice 
to  all  the  learned  men  who  have  devoted  their  zeal 
and  erudition  to  investigations  concerning  this  great 
poem;  for  this  reason  the  works  of  several  eminent 
scholars,  as  Liliencron,  Hermann  Fischer,  and  Hem- 
rich  Fischer,  have  not  been  considered.!  In  con- 
clusion, it  may  be  said  that  Karl  Simrock,  the  famous 
scholar  and  the  translator  of  our  epic,  presents  a  view 
of  the  question  which  the  writer  of  this  volume  con- 
siders to  be  generally  correct.  The  opinion  of  Sim- 
rock,  as  found  in  the  introduction  to  his  translation 
of  the  Mbelungen  Lied,J  is  briefly  as  follows.  Ac- 
cording to  him,  Lachmann  was  right  upon  the  whole 
in  giving  the  preference  to  the  manuscript  A,  how- 
ever carelessly  it  is  written,  yet  he  went  too  far  in 
according  to  B  and  C  merely  the  value  of  conjectures. 
B,  and  especially  C,  departed  from  the  popular  tradi- 

*  See  Note  3,  p.  295. 

t  A  list  of  the  works  on  Nibelung  literature  is  given  in 
Zarncke's  fifth  edition  of  the  poem  and  in  K.  von  Muth's  Ein- 
leitung  zum  Nibelungen  Lied. 

t  39th  edition,  pp.  xxvi,  xxvii. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  143 

tions  in  order  to  give  to  their  texts  a  finer,  courtly 
polish.  The  very  laziness  of  those  who  wrote  A  pre- 
served us  from  innovations.  We  must  find  the  earli- 
est text  out  of  all  the  three  manuscripts,  for  it  is 
contained  in  none  of  them  alone,  but  must  be  collected 
from  all  of  them.  In  regard  to  the  author  of  the 
Nibelungen  Lied,  Simrock  says  that  first  the  clergy, 
and  at  the  time  of  the  crusades  also  the  knights,  had 
abandoned  heroic  poetry.  The  latter  would  have 
been  doomed  to  deteriorate  and  perish  in  the  hands 
of  vulgar  singers,  had  not  "a  wandering  minstrel  (ftafy* 
renter)  of  noble  birth,  educated  in  the  school  of  na- 
tional poetry,  and  befriended  at  the  courts  on  account 
of  his  rank,  undertaken  to  collect  into  a  single  great 
poem  the  many-shaped  folk-song,  which  still  re- 
sounded with  unabated  force  in  many  lauds,  and 
which  celebrated  the  old  demi-godlike  heroes  and 
folk-kings,  Siegfried  and  Dietrich,  in  separate  short 
lays.  This  great  poem  was  no  longer  destined  for 
singing,  but  for  reading,  like  the  romances  which 
were  then  favorites  at  the  courts.  .  .  .  The  name  of 
the  poet  who  undertook  such  a  grand  patriotic  work 
has  not  come  down  to  us,  else  it  would  burn  in 
all  German  hearts  with  the  most  beautiful  colors. 
Although  as  a  poet  he  had  accomplished  greater 
things  than  those  courtly  narrators  who  often  were 
no  more  than  translators,  he  modestly  withdrew  be- 
hind his  work,  which  he  did  not  consider  his  special 
property,  since  it  was  the  production  of  a  thousand 
years  of  the  power  of  German  epic  poetry  to  which 
as  a  boy  he  had  listened  with  delight,  and  with  whose 


144  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

glory  his  parents  and  grandparents  had  been  replete. 
Albeit  he  had  gathered  the  old  songs  with  great  in- 
dustry, and  had  sketched  and  carried  out  with  admi- 
rable art  his  new  work  which  was  to  connect  and 
unite  all  of  them,  yet,  with  respect  to  the  folk-song, 
he  could  regard  himself  merely  as  a  collector,  ar- 
ranger, and  interpreter."*  Simrock  very  appropri- 
ately refers  to  the  fact  that  the  first  and  earliest  song 
begins  with  Kriemhild's  dream,  which  like  a  motto 
precedes  the  whole  epic.  Then  he  continues :  "  The 
poet  could  also  afterwards  admit  occasionally  entire 
songs,  like  that  of  Gunther's  bridal  journey,  which 
was  so  neatly  evolved  by  Lachmann,  or  the  lays  of 
Siegfried's  wedding  and  of  his  death,  which  are 
attested  still  later  as  current  among  the  people;  then 
the  two  songs  of  Margrave  Ktidiger  (nearly  the  whole 
contents  of  the  first  of  them,  relating  how  he  enter- 
tained the  Burgundian  kings  with  all  their  host,  and 
presented  them  with  gifts,  ay,  betrothed  his  daugh- 
ter to  the  youngest  of  them,  was  written  down  in  Ice- 
landic prose  in  the  Vilkina  Saga  from  the  mouth  of 
German  merchants  of  Bremen,  Svest,  and  Minister); 
or  that  other,  of  the  same  Eiidiger's  tragic  death, 
which  can  be  considered  as  the  most  beautiful  and 
touching  lay  that  has  ever  been  produced  by  heroic 
poetry.  But  twenty  folk-songs  of  different  authors 
could  not  possibly  have  agreed  and  embraced  the 
whole  contents  of  the  hero-saga  in  such  a  way  that 
the  collector  merely  needed  to  put  them  in  order  and 
combine  them  by  some  interpolated  stanzas,  f  In  this 
*  Simrock,  pp.  vi,  vii.  t  Ibid.,  pp.  x,  xi. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  145 

connection  Simrock  suggests  that  the  poet  probably 
heard  various  songs  in  different  regions  of  Germany ; 
he  had  to  select  from  these  songs,  to  supplement  them, 
to  avoid  their  defects,  and  combine  their  merits.  Thus 
Simrock  thinks  it  much  more  credible  that  the  poet 
made  use  of  two  hundred  songs,  than  that  by  an  in- 
conceivable good  luck  he  had  come  into  the  posses- 
sion of  twenty  lays  which  he  had  only  to  arrange 
in  the  manner  indicated  above.  It  is  not  to  be 
imagined  that  the  transformation  of  the  many-shaped 
hero-song  into  a  single  poem  was  brought  about  so 
easily.* 

Nothing  certain  is  known  as  to  which  part  of  Ger- 
many can  claim  the  honor  of  having  been  the  birth- 
place of  our  epic.  Austria  proper  and  the  Court  at 
Vienna,  which  then  under  its  dukes  formed  a  real 
and  glorious  portion  of  the  German  Empire,  and  had 
not  yet  become  estranged  from  the  common  father- 
land, as  in  the  later  era  of  the  Habsburg  dynasty, 
have  often  been  considered  the  home  of  the  Nibe- 
lungen  Lied.  This  conclusion  was  adopted  chiefly  on 
the  assumption  that  the  poet  was  better  acquainted 
with  the  localities  on  the  Danube  than  with  those  on 
the  Ehine.  Yet  it  has  since  been  shown  that  this  is 
so  only  apparently,  and  we  may  here  again  quote 
Simrock's  view  of  the  question,  as  it  is  without  doubt 
correct  and  well  expressed :  "  The  wandering  min- 
strels and  players  did  not  confine  themselves  to  one 
German  court  or  to  one  German  land :  they  went 
from  land  to  land,  from  court  to  court,  where  a  feast, 
*  Simrock,  p.  xvi. 


146      •  THE   GREAT   EPICS  OF 

a  wedding,  an  accolade,  happened  to  be  celebrated.  .  .  . 
That  in  the  Nibelungen  Lied  the  regions  on  the 
Danube  are  described  more  accurately  than  those  on 
the  Ehine,  is  explained  by  the  greater  navigability  of 
our  principal  river :  the  heroes  embark  at  Worms  in 
a  boat  and  sail  down  to  the  mouths  of  the  Ehine, 
where  we  must  imagine  Isenstein  to  be,  as  several 
places  of  this  name,  in  but  little  disfigured  form,  still 
exist  in  those  regions,  where  once  the  goddess  of  nav- 
igation, Isis  or  Nehalennia,  was  worshipped.  In  a 
similar  manner  they  also  return  to  Worms,  again 
without  stopping  and  disembarking  on  the  way, 
wherefore  Mainz,  Koln,  and  other  cities  in  their 
voyage  to  and  fro,  could  remain  unmentioned.  Only 
in  the  vicinity  of  Worms  they  leave  their  boat  and 
continue  their  journey  on  land,  which  is  an  evident 
proof  that  the  poet  was  also  well  acquainted  with 
the  Ehine,  since  at  that  time  between  Mainz  and 
Worms  it  was  not  navigable  up  stream.  Merchants 
who  sailed  down  the  river  from  Strassburg  used,  on 
returning,  to  sell  their  barks  in  Mainz  or  in  Koln." 
While  thus  in  some  respects  it  may  be  regretted 
that  the  name  of  the  poet  and  of  the  place  where 
our  epic  first  took  the  form  in  which  we  now  pos- 
sess it  are  unknown,  yet  we  can  console  ourselves 
by  the  fact  that  the  Nibelungen  Lied  is  the  noble 
heirloom  of  Germany's  past  grandeur,  and  in  a  cer- 
tain sense  as  well  the  production  as  the  property  of 
the  whole  nation.  Carlyle's  appropriate  remarks  in 
regard  to  the  poet  may  be  quoted  here  :  "  His  great 
strength  is  an  unconscious,  instinctive  strength, 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  147 

wherein  truly  lies  his  highest  merit.  The  whole 
spirit  of  chivalry,  of  love  and  heroic  valor,  must  have 
lived  in  him  and  inspired  him.  Everywhere  he 
shows  a  noble  sensibility ;  the  sad  accents  of  parting 
friends,  the  lamenting^  of  women,  the  high  daring  of 
men,  —  all  that  is  worthy  and  lovely  prolongs  itself 
in  melodious  echoes  through  his  heart  A  true  old 
singer,  and  taught  of  Nature  herself !  Neither  let  us 
call  him  an  inglorious  Milton,  since  now  he  is  no 
longer  a  mute  one.  What  good  were  it  that  the  four 
or  five  letters  composing  his  name  could  be  printed, 
and  pronounced  with  absolute  certainty  ?  All  that 
is  mortal  in  him  is  gone  utterly :  of  his  life  and  its 
environment,  as  of  the  bodily  tabernacle  he  dwelt  in, 
the  very  ashes  remain  not:  like  a  fair,  heavenly 
apparition,  which  indeed  he  was,  he  has  melted  into 
air,  and  only  the  voice  he  uttered,  in  virtue  of  its 
inspired  gift,  yet  lives  and  will  live." 

In  the  Introduction  a  few  general  hints  have  been 
given  in  regard  to  early  German  versification.  It 
will  be  sufficient  here  to  refer  briefly  to  the  form  of 
the  Nibelung  stanza.  "  The  measure  varies  in  effect, 
sometimes  bold  and  strong,  with  a  fine  irregularity  of 
movement,  sometimes  sweet  and  musical,  but  fre- 
quently rough  and  halting,  and  it  requires  some 
familiarity  before  it  adjusts  itself  to  the  ear."  *  The 
versification  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied  consists  of  four 
lines,  each  of  which  is  divided  into  two  hemistichs. 
The  verse  or  line  is  based  on  the  principle  of  accent- 
uation, and  there  are  generally  six  accents  to  every 

*  Bayard  Taylor,  Studies,  p.  109. 


148  THE  GREAT  EPICS  OF 

verse,  while  it  is  permitted  either  to  suppress  or  to 
supply  unaccented  syllables.  This  liberty  was  taken 
also  in  earlier  German  and  English  poetry.  The  first 
hemistich  of  every  line  ends  almost  always  with  a 
ringing  caesura,  i.  e.  a  caesura  of  two  syllables,  of 
which  the  first  is  accented  and  the  second  is  unac- 
cented or  redundant.  The  last  hemistich  of  the 
stanza  has  four  accents,  while  all  the  others  have 
three.  The  rhymes  are  male  rhymes,  that  is,  only 
the  last  syllables  of  the  verses  agree  in  sound.  It  is 
believed  by  many  scholars  that  the  Nibelung  verse 
is  a  modification  of  the  Old  German  verse,  which 
contained  eight  accented  syllables.  The  schema  of 
the  form  of  the  Mbelung  stanza,  without  regard  to 
the  unaccented  syllables,  except  to  the  second  one  of 
the  caesura,  is  as  follows :  *  — 


"We  may  now  give  the  first  two  stanzas  of  the  poem, 
with  the  accents  marked. 
Uns  fst  in  alten  matron    wunders  vil  geseft 
Von  heleden  lobebaeren    von  grower  arebeit ; 

S~^  ^^s 

Von  freude  und  ho'chgezi'ten,    von  weinen  unde  klagen, 

/-~s  x-v 

Von  kiiener  recken  striten    nraget  fr  nu  minder  hoeren  sagen. 

Ez  wuohs  in  Bviregdnden    ein  vil  edel  magedi'n, 
Daz  in  alien  Mnden    niht  schooners  mdhte  si'n, 
KriemhQt  geheizeu :     diu  wart  ein  sclioe"ne  wi'p  . 
Dar  limbe  muoseu  ddgene    vil  verlies6n  den  li'p. 
*  See  Note  4,  p.  303. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  149 

In  the  translations  given  in  the  course  of  the  first 
two  chapters,  the  metre  of  the  original  has  been 
retained,  yet  the  last  line  has  not  been  lengthened, 
nor  has  the  irregularity  caused  by  the  option  of  sup- 
pressing or  supplying  the  unaccented  syllables  been 
imitated.  It  is  believed  that  a  too  slavish  imitation 
of  the  Nibelung  verse  may  prove  distasteful  to  Eng- 
lish ears. 

IV.  The  Nibelungen  Lied  has  been  translated  into 
Modern  German  by  several  scholars  of  great  repute, 
among  whom  we  may  mention  here  Karl  Simrock, 
G.  Pfitzer,  and  K.  Bartsch.  Simrock's  translation,  of 
which  now  thirty-nine  editions  have  appeared,  is  still 
considered  the  best.  Thomas  Carlyle  was  the  first 
who  emphatically  called  the  attention  of  the  English- 
speaking  public  to  our  epic,  and  in  his  remarkable 
essay  on  the  subject  (Westminster  Review,  1831)  he 
translated  several  stanzas  with  much  spirit  Since 
that  time  the  interest  in  the  Nibelungen  Lied  and  in 
Teutonic  lore  generally  has  greatly  increased  both  in 
England  and  in  this  country.  In  the  year  1846 
there  appeared  a  partial  translation  of  the  poem  by 
J.  Gostik,  in  his  "  Spirit  of  German  Poetry,"  and  in 
1848  Jonathan  Birch  piiblished  his  translation  of  the 
twenty  lays  which  Lachmann  considered  genuine,* 
under  the  title  "Das  Nibelungen  Lied;  or,  Lay  of  the 
Last  Nibelungers,"  of  which  a  second  edition  appeared 
in  1878.  The  first  complete  translation  was  made  by 
W.  N.  Lettsom,  in  1850,  who  called  his  version  "  The 
Fall  of  the  Nibelungers;  otherwise  the  Book  of 

»  p.  140. 


150  THE   GREAT  EPICS  OF 

Kriemhild."  This  is  not  the  place  to  point  out  the 
excellences  and  defects  of  these  translations;  but  it 
will  be  sufficient  to  say  that  upon  the  whole  Lett- 
som's  work  is  more  faithful  to  the  original,  both  in 
spirit  and  in  form,  than  that  of  Birch,  although  the 
latter  is  not  without  its  merits.  In  this  connection 
we  may  also  refer  to  the  first  American  version, 
in  which,  under  the  title  "  Echoes  from  Mistland," 
the  story  of  the  Nibeluugen  Lied  is  retold  in  pure, 
graceful,  and  very  poetic  prose.  The  earliest  trans- 
lation of  which  we  know,  was  into  Netherlandish, 
but  it  has  been  found  only  in  two  fragments,  which 
seem  to  have  belonged  to  one  and  the  same  man- 
uscript of  the  thirteenth  century.  Since  the  re- 
discovery of  our  epic  by  Bodrner,  there  have  appeared, 
besides  the  Modern  German  and  English  translations, 
versions  into  French  (in  prose),  Italian,  Hungarian, 
and  Eussian. 

V.  Thus,  while  the  Nibelung  saga,  as  has  been 
repeatedly  stated,  has  not  perished  in  the  minds 
and  hearts  of  the  German  people,  the  fame  of  the 
greatest  poem  of  Mediaeval  Germany  has  spread  far 
beyond  the  boundaries  of  its  home.  The  Nibe- 
lung  story  has  furnished  to  the  genius  and  imagina- 
tive flight  of  modern  German  poets  rich  material  for 
new  creations,  based  on  our  epic  and  on  the  kindred 
Northern  traditions.  The  grandeur  of  the  saga;  the 
deep  interest  which  its  tragical  end  arouses  in  all 
feeling  hearts ;  the  well-delineated  character  of  the 
heroes  and  heroines ;  the  sympathy  with  which  we 
are  inspired  in  beholding  the  lovely  picture  of 

\ 


MEDIEVAL    GERMANY.  151 

Kriemhild  in  the  first  part  of  the  poem ;  the  heroic 
figure  of  Hagen  in  the  second  part ;  Riidiger's  touch- 
ing farewell  of  his  friends  before  he  encounters  them 
in  combat ;  his  inward  struggle  between  his  oath  to 
Kriemhild,  his  duty  towards  Etzel,  and  his  friendship 
for  the  royal  brothers ;  again,  the  moment  when  he 
gives  his  shield  to  Hagen, — the  beauty  and  greatness 
of  all  these  and  many  other  scenes  can  be  equalled 
by  few  literary  productions  of  the  past  or  present, 
and  might  well  tempt  a  poetic  mind  to  choose  the 
Nibelung  subject  as  the  basis  for  new  artistic  com- 
positions. Yet,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  there  are  but 
very  few  authors  of  modern  Nibelung  poems  who  can 
be  considered  to  have  accomplished  this  task  with 
success,  while  several  have  treated  the  saga  in  an 
unpoetic  way,  or  in  an  arbitrary  manner,  contrary  to 
the  spirit  and  contents  of  ancient  tradition.  Most 
writers  have  selected  the  form  of  the  drama  for  their 
works ;  a  few  have  written  epic  poems.* 

The  greatest  of  all  Nibelung  dramas  that  as  yet 
have  been  composed,  is  undoubtedly  "  Brunhild,"  a  t/ 
tragedy  by  Emanuel  Geibel.f  The  author  is  one  of 
the  most  renowned  lyric  poets  of  our  time,  and  a 
great  scholar.  Although  dramatic  poetry  is  not  his 
specialty,  his  "  Brunhild "  is~^a  production  which, 
in  elegance  of  diction,  force  and  clearness  in  the 
delineation  of  characters  and  incidents,  is  equalled  by 
few  dramas  of  the  present  day.  Poetic  genius, 

*  See  Note  5,  p.  304. 

t  Translated  by  the  writer  of  this  volume,  and  published   by 
Ginn  and  Heath,  Boston,  1879. 


152  THE  GREAT  EPICS   OF 

together  with  the  correct  understanding  of  the  saga, 
make  Geibel's  tragedy  incomparably  superior  to  any 
and  all  of  the  modern  Mbelung  dramas,  although  his 
work  does  not  comprise  the  second  part  of  the  tradi- 
tions, —  the  Eevenge.  The  scene  opens  at  the  royal 
castle  at  Worms,  in  the  early  morning,  after  the 
double  marriage  of  Gunther  and  Siegfried,  and  the 
time  is  previous  to  the  introduction  of  Christianity 
into  Germany.  In  the  first  act  there  is  already  a 
dim  foreshadowing  of  future  events,  when  Yolker, 
referring  to  the  wedding  feast  which  had  just  ended, 
says  to  Hagen,  — 

"  For  me  the  loud  carousal  had  no  relish. 
It  seemed  as  if  a  storm,  all  joy  oppressing, 
Were  darkening  with  its  gloom  the  festal  hall. 
And  midst  the  play  of  harps  and  glare  of  lights 
A  boding  fell  on  me  of  coming  woe." 

The  combat  at  Isenstein  is  well  described,  and  the 
use  of  the  Tarnkappe  is  fortunately  avoided,  as  Sieg- 
fried is  represented  to  have  fought  in  Gunther's 
armor  with  closed  visor,  and  this  fact  is  known  to 
none  save  Gunther.  Hagen  relates  to  Yolker  the 
contest  between  Brunhild  and  her  adversary.  Gun- 
ther tells  Siegfried  of  Brunhild's  resistance  in  the 
bridal  chamber,  and  Siegfried  finally  yields  to  the 
demands  of  the  king;  Brunhild  is  for  the  second 
time  vanquished  by  Siegfried,*  while  the  latter,  when 
promising  his  aid  to  Gunther,  exclaims,  — 

*  The  contest  is  supposed  to  occur  between  the  end  of  the  first 
and  the  beginning  of  the  second  act. 


MEDIEVAL    GERMANY.  153 

"  Take  my  oath : 

For  me  the  fray,  for  thee  the  fray's  reward. 
Whom  Kriemhild  loves,  no  other  woman  charms, 
Albeit  she  wore  e'en  Freyja's  magic  belt." 

A  masterly  stroke  of  Geibel's  invention  is  the 
introduction  of  Sigrun,  a  priestess  in  Brunhild's 
train.  When  Sigrun  arouses  Brunhild,  who  is  ab- 
sorbed in  thought,  Brunhild  replies  to  her,  — 

"  Ah  !  never  canst  thou  measure  what  it  means, 

To  love  the  one,  an^  yet  to  be  the  other's, 

Of  whom  thy  heart  knows  naught,  —  with  life  and  soul 

Enthralled  to  him  whom  fate  has  on  thee  thrust." 

Siegfried,  at  a  former  time,  had  landed  on  the  shore 
of  her  native  land,  and  she  then  was  filled  with  fer- 
vent love  of  the  hero ;  yet  she  let  him  depart,  being 
confident  that  he  would  come  back  and  return  her 
love.  Knowing  from  Sigrun's  prophecies  that  none 
but  Siegfried  can  vanquish  her,  she  vows  to  marry 
only  him  who  will  overcome  her  in  combat.  She 
must  believe  now  that  she  had  been  deceived  by  the 
oracle,  and  therefore  she  scoffs  at  the  gods :  — 

"It  was 

Foretold  '  Siegfried  alone  can  conquer  thee/ 
And  Gunther,  Gunther,  conquered  me.     Oh,  that 
Remains  a  clashing  discord  which  disgraces  them.* 
And  till  it  shall  be  solved,  will  I,  Brunhild, 
The  mortal  woman,  struck  with  grief  and  woe, 
Defiant  lift  my  brow  'gainst  such  deceit, 
And  shriek  into  the  clouds,  '  Ye,  gods,  have  lied  1 ' ' 

There  is  a  beautiful  scene  between  Giselher  and 
Kriemhild  in  the  castle  garden  at  Worms,  followed 

v  *  The  gods. 


154  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

by  another  between  Siegfried  and  Kriemhild.  The 
latter  had  become  aware  of  Siegfried's  absence  during 
the  previous  night  when  he  subdued  Brunhild  for 
Gunther.  Siegfried  resists  the  repeated  and  urgent 
requests  of  Kriemhild  to  tell  her  where  he  was,  and 
at  last  when  she  bursts  into  tears  he  is  about  to  leave 
her  in  anger.  At  this  moment  Brunhild  enters,  who, 
perceiving  Kriemhild's  tears,  salutes  her  with  scorn- 
ful words  and  departs  quickly.  Siegfried,  irritated  at 
Brunhild's  insult,  consoles  his  wife. 

"  Thou  shalt  not  weep,  Kriemhild.    No,  no  !  I  have 
What  dries  thy  tears.     And  let  there  come  from  it 
Whatever  may,  now  shalt  thou  truly  see 
That  proud  one  in  her  nakedness,  and  know 
What  I  to  spare  her  —  her  alone  —  concealed. 
This  morn,  when  missed  by  thee,  I  was  with  her." 

After  this  the  curtain  falls,  and  the  second  act 
closes.  In  a  dialogue  between  Volker  and  Hagen 
the  latter  gives  expression  to  his  wrath  against  Sieg- 
fried, and  when  Volker  asks  him  for  the  cause  of  it, 
Hagen  retorts,  — 

"  Should  I  now  say, 
I  hate  him,  as  the  bull  the  scarlet  hates, 
From  deep  and  inborn  enmity  of  nature, 
Were  't  not  enough  of  answer  ?     Yet  I  'm  urged 
By  silent  wrath  repressed  for  months  to  pour 
It  out  before  thee,  Volker.     Lo  !  on  me 
Life  has  bestowed  but  little  happiness. 
I  am  the  foster-child  of  fortune ;  ne'er 
A  wife  beloved  has  rested  in  these  arms, 
Nor  child  has  smiled  on  me.     Nor  house  nor  wealth 
Have  I  obtained.    Of  victory  even  were 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  155 

The  sweat,  the  dust,  the  care  alone  my  part ; 

For  others  was  the  fruit,  remained  the  fame. 

I  never  have  complained,  for  this  I  knew, 

One  thing,  which  for  my  weary  lot  gave  me 

A  full  return  :  the  proud  self-confidence 

Of  being  then  the  pillar  of  this  realm. 

To  me  't  was  wife  and  child  and  wealth  and  all. 

And  now  when  I  alone  for  twenty  years 

Have  propped  this  house  and  spilled  a  hundred  times 

My  blood  to  strengthen  it ;  now,  at  the  end, 

That  youth  with  flowing  flaxen  hair  appears 

And  enters  like  a  victor  house  and  hearts, 

Commands  in  council  and  in  field,  and  I 

Must,  like  a  rusty  weapon,  which  is  spared 

For  service  done  of  old,  stand  in  a  corner. 

Ha,  death  and  ruin  !  " 

Hagen,  in  conversation  with  Brunhild,  gives  utter- 
ance to  his  belief  that  Siegfried  does  not  love  Kriem- 
hild.  As  Brunhild  questions  him,  he  reports  that  he 
had  secretly  at  night  observed  Kriemhild's  husband ; 
how  he  stepped  forth  on  the  stone  terrace  of  the 
castle,  exclaimed  in  a  pitiful  tone,  "Poor  woman!" 
and  then  quickly  went  away.  Hagen  concludes  that 
Siegfried  can  have  meant  no  other  but  Kriemhild. 
Brunhild,  moved  by  these  tidings,  suddenly  meets 
Siegfried,  reminds  him  of  the  glorious  days  they  had 
formerly  passed  together,  and  as  Siegfried  does  not 
seem  to  understand  the  hidden  meaning  of  her  words, 
she  says  at  last,  "None  but  the  heroine  should  be  the 
hero's  wife."  Siegfried,  after  extolling  Kriemhild's 
charms,  tells  the  queen  :  — 

"  Ah !  never,  never,  nay,  not  e'en  in  dream, 
A  feeling  rose  in  me  as  loved  I  thee." 


156  THE  GBEAT  EPICS  OF 

Brunhild's  wrath  knows  no  bounds,  and  she  says 
to  Siegfried,  — 

"  I  hate  thee, 

With  all  my  soul  I  hate  thee,  and  I  have 
Thee  always  hated,  and  will  hate  thee  still, 
While  yet  a  breath  of  life  shall  dwell  in  me." 

In  this  mood  Brunhild  encounters  Kriemhild  be- 
fore the  temple  at  whose  altar  the  two  royal  ladies 
were  to  celebrate  midsummer  feast  together.  With 
haughty  and  disdainful  words,  Brunhild  offends 
Kriemhild,  until  the  latter,  when  Brunhild  calls  her 
a  bondman's  wife,  is  aroused  and  retorts  with  glow- 
ing anger.  Thus  all  is  revealed,  and  Brunhild 
demands  Siegfried's  death  from  Gunther,  while 
Hagen  is  eager  to  be  the  instrument  of  her  revenge. 
Gunther,  after  a  noble  effort  to  resist  Brunhild's 
powerful  will,  consents  at  last  to  Siegfried's  murder, 
especially  as  his  jealousy  is  awakened  when  Brun- 
hild hints  at  her  love  of  Siegfried.  One  of  the 
finest  scenes  is  Siegfried's  taking  leave  of  Kriemhild 
before  he  goes  to  the  chase  in  the  Odenwald.  The 
murderous  deed  is  supposed  to  occur  between  the 
end  of  the  fourth  and  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  act. 
In  the  last  scene  of  the  tragedy,  Brunhild  enters 
triumphantly  to  behold  her  victim,  and  rejoice  in 
the  accomplished  revenge ;  but  soon  at  the  sight 
of  the  corpse  her  hatred  passes  away,  and  she 
exclaims,  — 

"  Ay,  know  it  all  of  you,  this  man  I  've  loved, 
Ay,  from  the  very  first,  and  none  besides. 
Him  have  I  loved  despite  decrees  of  fate, 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  157 

Despite  the  stars.     Forsooth,  the  gods  may  crush  me, 
But  never  shall  they  wrench  from  me  my  love !  " 

Seized  by  an  irresistible  desire  to  be  united  at  least 
in  death  with  him  whom  in  life  she  preferred  to 
all  others,  she  stabs  herself  with  Siegfried's  dagger. 
Kriemhild  vows  to  wreak  vengeance,  and  Sigrun, 
in  prophetic  ecstasy,  announces  the  bloody  fate  of 
future  days. 

Among  the  modern  epic  poems  based  on  our  saga, 
W.  Jordan's  "Mbelunge"  is  by  far  the  most  re- 
nowned. It  comprises  two  parts,  —  the  Siegfried 
Saga,  and  Hildebrant's  Heimkehr.  We  can  here 
but  briefly  refer  to  this  poem,  as  it  is  very  long,  the 
plot  very  intricate,  and  therefore  even  quite  a  lengthy 
extract  could  hardly  do  justice  to  the  work.  Jordan 
has  taken  his  material  chiefly  from  the  Volsunga 
Saga,  yet  he  has  also  availed  himself  of  the  Edda, 
of  the  first  part  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  and  of  the 
Thidrek  Saga.  Moreover  he  has  drawn  to  a  great 
extent  on  his  imagination.  The  form  he  has  chosen 
is  that  of  the  old  German  verse,  with  four  accented 
syllables  and  alliteration.  With  this  versification 
a  most  wonderful  power  of  the  language  was  required 
to  compose  for  modern  taste  such  a  great  work  of 
art  as  we  see  in  his  "  Nibelunge." 

From  want  of  space  we  can  only  refer  to  Eichard 
Wagner's  famous  musical  drama,  "  The  Ring  of  the 
Nibelung,"  and  to  William  Morris's  epic  poem, 
"  Sigurd  the  Volsung."  Both  are  works  of  rare  merit. 
In  conclusion,  it  may  be  said  that  poetry  and  music 
were  not  the  only  arts  by  which  the  Nibelung  story 


158  THE   GREAT   EPICS. 

was  celebrated ;  the  great  saga  found  expression 
also  in  some  of  the  most  renowned  paintings  of  the 
world.  Besides  the  ingenious  works  of  Peter  von 
Cornelius,  the  noble  achievements  of  Julius  Schnorr 
von  Carolsfeld  must  be  mentioned.  The  latter's 
Nibelung  frescos  in  the  halls  of  the  Konigsbau  in 
Munich  attest  the  master's  hand.  True,  indeed,  have 
been  found  the  prophecies  of  old,  that  Siegfried's 
glory  will  last  forever. 


CHAPTEK  VI. 
GUDKUN. —  OUTLINE  OF  THE  POEM. 

THE  national  epics  of  Mediaeval  Germany  arose 
from  a  number  of  shorter  lays,  which  in  the  course 
of  time  flowed  together  into  a  deep,  powerful,  and 
majestic  stream.  Of  such  mighty  streams  of  poetry, 
Germany  has  two:  the  one  roaring  through  the  rocks, 
foaming  and  bellowing  in  eddies  and  deep  abysses, — 
the  Nibelungen  Lied ;  the  other  flowing  on  clear  and 
smooth,  yet  deep  and  strong,  through  pleasing  land- 
scapes,—  the  poem  of  Gudrun.  This  epic  presents  a 
peculiar  charm  on  account  of  the  horizon  which  it 
expands  about  us ;  it  is  the  sea  with  its  waves,  its 
storms,  its  ships,  its  sea-kings  and  their  voyages.* 

The  poem  of  Gudrun  has  been  transmitted  to  us 
in  only  onejnanaiscript,  which  belongs  to  the  begin-   , 
ning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  which  we  owe  to  i 
the  German  Emperor,  Maximilian  I.     At  his  com- 
mand  manuscript  copies  of  several  ancient  poems  •> 
were  taken,  and  this  collection  is  known  by  the  name 
of  "  Ambraser  Handschrift,"  as  it  was  formerly  kept 
at  the  imperial  castle  Ambras  in  Tyrol.     Our  poem, 

*  Vilmar. 


160  THE  GREAT  EPICS   OF 

comprising  the  sagas  of  three  generations  in  thirty- 
two  songs,  which  according  to  the  custom  of  the  age 
were  called  adventures,  is  divided  into  three  sections. 
The  first  two  form,  as  it  were,  an  introduction  to  the 
story  of  Gudrun,  while  the  latter  begins  only  with 
the  third  section. 

SECTION  I. 

I.  -  IV.  —  The  hero  of  this  section  is  Hagen,  the  son 
of  Sigeband,  king  of  Ireland  The  latter  name  desig- 
nates a  place  in  Holland.  A  part  of  Texel  is  still 
called  Eijerland.  Sigeband  held  a  great  festival 
and  tournament,  in  the  course  of  which  he  and  his 
guests  listened  with  delight  to  the  songs  of  a  min- 
strel, and  their  attention  was  wholly  absorbed  by  the 
pleasures  of  the  feast.  In  the  meantime  Hagen, 
then  only  seven  years  old,  walked  about  in  the  en- 
closure of  the  royal  castle,  accompanied  by  a  noble 
maiden,  to  whose  care  he  had  been  intrusted.  All 
at  once  the  joys  of  the  festival  were  doomed  to  be 
changed  to  sorrow.  An  ill-boding  roar  as  of  mighty 
pinions  cleft  the  air,  and  a  huge  griffin  drew  near. 

Deep  shadows  were  descending    where'er  the  griffin  flew, 
As  if  a  cloud  were  passing ;    and  strong  was  he  to  view. 

Beneath  the  griffin's  power    broke  down  the  forest  wide ; 
And  as  the  noble  maiden    the  flying  bird  espied, 
She  fled  and  left  behind  her    the  child  remaining  yonder. 
So  strange  was  the  adventure,    it  might  be  called  a  wonder. 

Young  Hagen,  loudly  crying,     was  filled  with  dire  dismay ; 
The  bird  with  mighty  pinions    soared  high  with  him  away. 

The  griffin  bore  the  child  to  a  distant  and  desolate 
island  to  have  him  devoured  by  its  young  ones. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  161 

One  of  the  brood  took  hold  of  Hagen,  and  as  it 
hopped  from  tree  to  tree,  it  happened  to  alight  at  last 
on  a  branch  which  broke  beneath  its  weight.  In  that 
emergency  the  young  griffin  dropped  the  child  from 
its  claws,  and  Hagen  succeeded  in  hiding  himself  in 
the  brushwood.  Afterwards  he  came  to  a  cave,  where 
he  met  three  royal  maidens,  who  had  taken  refuge 
there  from  fear  of  the  griffin,  by  whom  they,  like 
himself,  had  formerly  been  carried  to  the  lonely 
island.  The  maidens  tended  the  youth  with  great 
kindness,  and  he  grew  up  under  their  care.  After 
they  had  passed  a  few  years  together,  Hageu  one  day 
became  aware  of  a  ship  that  had  just  stranded,  and 
the  corpses  of  her  crew  had  been  driven  to  the  shore. 
Finding  among  them  a  dead  knight,  he  stripped  the 
corpse  of  the  armor  and  put  it  on  ;  he  also  took  the 
knight's  sword  and  bow.  He  intended  to  return 
to  the  cave,  and  scarcely  had  clad  himself  in  the  mail 
when  he  heard  above  his  head  a  great  roaring  as  of 
the  wind,  and  saw  the  old  griffin  sweeping  down 
upon  him. 

Then  with  his  childlike  power    he  aimed  against  his  foe 
Full  many  a  pointed  arrow,     and  shot  them  from  his  bow. 
He  could  not  wound  the  griffin  j     it  was  of  no  availing. 
Then  with  his  sword  he  tried  it;     he  heard  the  maidens  wailing. 
Despite  his  youthful  bearing    he  yet  was  not  bereft 
Of  daring  mood  ;  and  fiercely    the  griffin's  wing  he  cleft. 

After  a  short  combat  the  old  griffin  fell  dead  to 
the  ground  beneath  Hagen's  sword,  and  the  same 
fate  overtook  the  other  griffins  who  came  to  attack 
him.  Henceforth  Hagen  and  the  three  maidens 


162  THE   GREAT  EPICS  OF 

could  wander  freely  over  the  whole  island,  and  their 
eager  desire  was  to  espy  a  ship  that  would  take  them 
away  from  the  barren  shore  on  which  they  had  lived 
so  long.  In  his  wanderings  and  hunting  through  the 
trackless  forest,  Hagen  came  across  a  wild  beast 
(gabilijiri)  much  resembling  a  dragon.  The  monster 
attacked  him,  but  Hagen  slew  it  with  his  sword 
and  drank  its  blood,  which  gave  him  superhuman 
strength.  This  incident  is  evidently  an  imitation  of 
Siegfried's  slaying  of  the  dragon  in  the  Nibelung 
sagas.  Immediately  afterwards  he  meets  a  lion,  who, 
as  we  must  infer  from  the  connection,  had  fought 
with  the  monster  and  was  saved  by  Hagen.  This 
reminds  us  of  the  story  of  "  Henry  the  Lion." 

At  last  Hagen,  gazing  upon  the  sea,  perceived  a 
vessel 

With  might  young  Hagen  shouted,     and  did  not  cease  to  shout, 
Howe'er  the  roaring  tempest    the  wild  waves  tossed  about. 

The  sailors  were  at  first  reluctant  to  approach  the 
shore,  as  they  took  the  maidens,  whose  attire  con- 
sisted of  moss  woven  together,  for  mermaids;  yet 
they  were  appeased  when  Hagen  besought  them  in 
v  the  namejjfj^hrist  to  take  him  and  the  ladies  aboard. 
After  the  latter  had  received  rich  garments,  they  and 
Hagen  were  courteously  welcomed  by  the  commander 
of  the  vessel,  the  Count  of  CJaradie.  The  latter  hap- 
pened to  be  a  neighbor  of  Sigeband,  Hagen's  father, 
who,  in  a  bitter  feud,  had  slain  many  knights  of  the 
count.  Therefore,  as  soon  as  Hagen  had  revealed  his 
parentage,  the  count  determined  to  keep  him  as  a 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  163 

hostage.  Hagen,  enraged  at  this  conduct,  commanded 
the  sailors  to  steer  at  once  to  his  native  land.  As 
they  refused  and  were  about  to  lay  hands  on  him, 
he  thrust  thirty  of  them  into  the  sea.  He  would  not 
have  spared  the  count  from  the  same  doom  if  the 
ladies  had  not  interfered.  The  crew  then  submitted 
to  his  will,  and  the  vessel  arrived  in  Ireland,  where 
Hagen's  mother  recognized  her  son  by  a  golden  cross 
on  his  breast.  Great  were  the  joys  of  the  parents 
when  it  was  certain  that  their  child,  whom  they  had 
supposed  for  many  years  to  be  dead,  was  restored  to 
them.  At  Hagen's  entreaties,  Sigeband  and  the 
count  were  reconciled,  and  were  friends  from  that 
time.  Many  came  to  Balyan,  Sigeband's  fortress, 
to  see  the  young  prince.  Hagen  soon  after  was 
dubbed  knight,  and  his  father  bestowed  the  crown 
on  him  ;  while  one  of  the  maidens,  a  king's  daughter 
'from  India,  who  had  shared  his  sojourn  on  the  deso- 
late island,  and  whose  name  was  Hilde,  became  the 
wife  of  the  young  king.  His  bravery  was  known  far 
and  wide,  and  his  enemies  feared  him,  while  he  was 
merciful  towards  the  weak. 

Ou  warlike  enterprises    into  his  enemies'  land 
He  spared  the  poor  from  ravage     of  fire  with  powerful  hand  ; 
Whenever  he  encountered    a  warrior  overbearing, 
He  broke  his  burghs  and  slew  him    with  dire  revenge  un- 
sparing. 

Afterward  his  wife  bore  him  a  daughter,  who  was 
named  Hilde  like  her  mother,  and  was  brought  up 
with  the  greatest  care.  As  she  became  a  maiden  of 
wondrous  beauty,  many  were  the  wooers  of  the  noble 


164  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

princess ;  but  her  father  Hagen  did  not  consider  any 
of  them  worthy  of  her.  The  kings  and  nobles  who 
demanded  the  fair  maiden's  hand  were  compelled  to 
enter  the  'lists  against  Hagen,  and  all  of  them  were 
vanquished,  while  the  messengers  of  such  as  did  not 
venture  to  face  the  fierce  monarch  were  hanged. 
Thus  was  he  rightly  called  the  "demon  among  all 
kings  "  (  Vdlant  aller  Jcunige). 

SECTION  II. 

V.  -  VIII.  —  On  the  weather-beaten  coasts  of  North- 
ern Germany  in  the  land  of  the  Hegelings,  ruled 
the  valiant  King  Hetel.  Among  his  kinsmen  and 
friends  the  most  distinguished  were  Wat,  of  Sturm- 
land;  Horant  and  Frut,  of  Denmark;  Morung,  of  Nif- 
land ;  and  Irolt,  of  Ortland.  The  fame  of  young 
Hilde's  great  beauty  had  spread  far  and  wide,  and 
soon  reached  the  land  of  the  Hegelings.  King  Hetel, 
having  lost  his  father  and  mother,  was  advised  by  his 
friends  to  choose  a  wife,  and  Morung  spoke  of  the 
charms  of  Princess  Hilde. 

Then  said  the  royal  Hetel :     "  The  people  all  relate 
That  whosoe'er  will  woo  her    incurs  her  father's  hate, 
And  for  the  maid  has  perished     full  many  a  noble  knight ; 
My  friends  shall  never  suffer    for  me  such  woful  plight." 

Yet  soon  Hetel's  desire  to  wed  fair  Hilde  grew  so 
strong  that  he  forgot  to  think  of  the  danger  to  his 
friends,  and  became  utterly  regardless  of  the  conse- 
quences that  might  be  brought  on  by  his  all-absorb- 
ing love.  He  at  once  despatched  messengers  to 
summon  Horant  from  his  province  to  the  court. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  165 

When  the  latter  and  Frut  appeared,  the  king,  in 
the  course  of  the  festival  which  was  held  in  their 
honor,  questioned  Horaut  about  Hilde. 

Then  asked  of  him  King  Hetel :     "  Why  could  it  not  betide 
That  yet  her  sire  would  give  me    the  beauteous  maid  as  bride? 
Is  he  so  brave,  to  woo  her    I  shall  be  much  delighted, 
And  who  will  help  me  win  her    shall  richly  be  requited." 

As  the  king  persisted  in  his  determination,  Frut 
advised  him  to  send  for  the  stout  old  knight  Wat, 
as  the  enterprise  could  not  succeed  without  him. 
Wat  arrived  at  the  royal  castle,  and  Hetel  apprised 
him  of  what  was  expected  of  his  prowess. 

Sir  Wat  replied  with  anger  :     "  Whoe'er  told  this  to  thee, 
If  I  to-day  should  perish,    he  would  not  grieve  for  me. 
'T  is  none  but  Frut  of  Denmark    who  has  insinuated 
That  I,  to  win  fair  Hilde    for  thee,  be  delegated. 

"  The  fair  and  lovely  maiden    is  guarded  with  such  care, 
As  Frut  and  Horant  told  thee,     and  thou  art  well  aware, 
Because  she  is  so  beauteous.     I  wot  of  no  forbearing, 
Until  they  both  shall  join  me    in  your  emprise  with  daring." 

Wat  sarcastically  thanked  the  two  champions  for 
the  great  concern  they  took  in  his  military  renown  ; 
but  Frut  and  Horant  declared  that  they  would  joy- 
fully share  the  dangers  of  the  voyage  to  Hagen  in 
company  with  him,  and  at  Frut's  advice  the  follow- 
ing stratagem  was  adopted.  A  strong  and  magnifi- 
cent ship  was  built  of  cypress  wood,  in  the  hold  of 
which  many  armed  men  were  concealed.  In  this 
vessel,  and  in  some  barks,  a  host  of  warriors,  under 
the  command  of  Wat,  Frut,  and  Horant,  embarked 
for  Ireland,  after  they  had  cordially  taken  leave  of 


166  THE   GREAT  EPICS  OF 

King  Hetel,  who  remained  at  Hegelingen.  The 
adventurers  landed  at  Hagen's  mighty  sea  fortress, 
Balyan,  and  gave  themselves  out  as  merchants  who 
had  been  banished  from  Hetel's  kingdom.  To  give 
countenance  to  their  stratagem,  they  carried  with 
them  a  rich  store  of  merchandise  of  every  kind.  In 
order  to  conciliate  fierce  Hagen,  they  presented  him 
with  costly  gifts,  especially  with  horses  of  pure  Cas- 
tilian  blood,  and  with  suits  of  gorgeous  armor ;  while 
for  the  queen  and  the  ladies  of  the  court  they 
brought  gold,  jewels,  and  many  other  things  which 
please  women.  Hagen  promised  them  peace  and 
protection  in  his  land,  and  they  put  up  their  booths 
in  which  they  spread  out  the  precious  goods  which 
they  had  brought,  gaining  at  the  same  time  the  favor 
of  all,  and  especially  of  the  ladies,  by  their  liberality 
in  dealing  with  them.  At  last  they  came  near  attain- 
ing their  real  object,  as,  at  the  queen's  desire,  they 
were  presented  to  her  and  to  the  Princess  Hilde.  The 
warlike  aspect  of  Wat,  Frut,  and  Horant,  although 
in  the  guise  of  merchants,  aroused  the  admiration 
of  all,  and  the  appearance  of  the  grim,  gray-bearded 
hero  Wat  was  particularly  striking. 

King  Hagen's  wife  and  daughter    began  with  jesting  mood 
To  ask  Sir  Wat,  the  warrior,     if  it  to  him  seemed  good 
To  sit  with  beauteous  women,     or  if  he  thought  it  fitter 
Tor  him  to  fight  with  courage    in  contest  fierce  and  bitter. 

To  them  old  Wat  gave  answer :     "  One  thing  doth,  suit  me 

more, 

Though  I  sat  with  fair  women     so  sweetly  ne'er  before ; 
Whenever  it  could  happen,    for  me  't  were  more  inviting 
With  valiant  knights  and  heroes    iu  combat  to  be  fighting." 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  167 

Then  gayly  laughed  the  maiden,     of  charms  and  beauty  rare ; 
She  saw  it  pleased  him  little    to  be  with  women  fair. 

Soon  after,  while  the  knights  of  Hagen  were  en- 
gaged in  games  of  chivalry,  Wat  showed  the  king 
what  he  could  do  in  combat,  although  he  pretended 
to  know  nothing  about  knightly  warfare.  One  even- 
ing the  valiant  champion  Horant  began  to  sing,  and 
delighted  the  royal  family  and  the  whole  court  by 
the  beauty  and  sweetness  of  his  song.  The  queen 
bade  Horant  come  to  her  apartments,  and  asked  him 
to  sing  for  her  every  evening. 

When  now  the  night  was  ended    and  there  drew  near  the  dawn, 
Horant  began  his  singing,     so  that  in  grove  and  lawn 
The  birds  became  all  silent,     because  he  sang  so  sweetly ; 
The  people  who  were  sleeping     sprang  from  their  couches 
fleetly. 

The  cattle  in  the  forests    forsook  their  pasture  ground ; 
The  creeping  creatures  playing    among  the  grass  around,  — 
The  fishes  in  the  water,  —    all  in  their  sports  were  ceasing. 
The  minstrel  might  most  truly    rejoice  in  art  so  pleasing. 

Whate'er  he  might  be  singing,     to  no  one  seemed  it  long ; 
Forgotten  in  the  minster    were  priest  and  choral  song. 
Church  bells  no  longer  sounded    so  sweetly  as  before, 
And  every  one  who  heard  him    longed  for  the  minstrel  sore. 

Delighted  by  the  sweet  strain  of  Horant's  voice, 
the  young  Princess  Hilde  secretly  sent  for  him,  and 
after  he  had  sung  one  of  his  most  beautiful  lays,  he 
succeeded  in  apprising  her  of  King  Hetel's  wooing. 
The  royal  lady  intimated  that  she  would  consent  to 
marry  the  king,  and  asked  Horant  to  sing  to  her  then 
every  day. 


168  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

He  said  to  beauteous  Hilde  :     "  Most  noble  maiden  fair, 
My  lord  and  royal  master    has  at  his  palace  e'er 
Twelve  singers  who  surpass  me     in  skill,  and  sing  more  meetly. 
However  sweet  their  singing,     my  king  yet  sings  most  sweetly. 

Hilde  agreed  to  flee  with  King  Betel's  vassals,  and 
the  latter  had  everything  prepared  for  the  event. 
After  a  few  days  Wat  appeared  with  some  of  his 
knights  at  the  court,  and  told  King  Hagen  that  they 
were  about  to  take  leave  of  him,  pretending  that 
King  Hetel  had  reconciled  himself  to  them.  Wat 
begged  Hagen  as  a  token  of  honor  and  good  will 
towards  them  to  pay  them,  with  his  wife  and  daugh- 
ter, a  visit  aboard  their  ships.  Hagen  consented  to 
his  request. 

On  the  following  day,  the  royal  family,  accom- 
panied by  a  great  train  of  ladies  and  knights,  went 
to  the  shore.  While  the  king's  attention  was  di- 
rected to  a  boat,  and  the  queen  gazed  on  the  gorgeous 
splendor  in  the  booths,  Hilde  was  separated  from  her 
parents  before  they  became  aware  of  it.  The  prin- 
cess, with  some  of  her  favorite  maidens,  had  gone  on 
board  the  main  ship ;  the  anchors  had  been  raised 
and  the  vessel  moved  off,  while  the  knights  who  had 
been  concealed  in  its  hold  appeared  on  the  deck. 
The  queen  wrung  her  hands  in  despair,  and  Hagen, 
full  of  wrath,  called  for  his  spear,  declaring  that  he 
would  slay  the  traitors. 

Then  merrily  said  Morung :     "Be  not  in  haste,  I  pray. 
Howe'er  you  may  push  forward    to  chase  us  on  our  way, 
Had  you  a  thousand  warriors    prepared  for  strife  and  slaughter, 
We  'd  quickly  cool  their  valor,    and  thrust  them  in  the  water." 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  169 

Hagen  was  compelled  to  abstain  from  the  imme- 
diate pursuit  of  his  enemies,  as  his  ships  were  in  a 
bad  condition.  The  Hegelings  sped  on  gayly,  and 
reached  Waleis  in  Holland,  —  a  region  whose  name 
was  derived  from  the  river  Waal,  and  which  formed 
the  western  boundary  of  Hetel's  realm.  There  they 
encamped,  and  great  was  their  joy  when,  after  a  few 
days,  Hetel  arrived,  followed  by  a  great  number  of 
his  knights.  The  king  tenderly  embraced  his  bride, 
and  among  blooming  flowers,  under  silken  tents,  the 
warriors  sat  around  fair  Hilde  and  her  maidens. 

At  the  break  of  the  following  day  the  vassals  of 
King  Hetel  espied  a  sail  on  the  sea,  and  they  were 
soon  aware  that  Hagen  approached  with  many  of  his 
knights.  The  latter  were  encountered  by  the  Hege- 
lings on  the  landing-place,  and  a  fierce  combat  began. 

Then,  hither  flew  and  thither    the  whizzing  spears  with  might; 
Each  champion  'neath  the  buckler    was  eager  in  the  fight 
To  deeply  wound  his  enemy,     athwart  the  hauberk  gleaming. 
The  waves  were  crimson-colored,     with  heroes'  blood  all  teem- 
ing. 

King  Hagen,  full  of  anger,     leaped  forward  in  the  sea. 
Unto  the  shore  he  waded  ;     no  braver  knight  than  he  ! 
Full  many  pointed  arrows    against  him  were  seen  flying, 
Like  flakes  of  snow,  from  warriors    of  Hetel's  host  defying. 

And  afterwards  resounded    the  broadswords'  mighty  clang. 
Those  who  would  slay  King  Hageu    must  needs  give  way  with 

pang 

Before  his  strokes  of  prowess.     Then  Hetel  came,  assailing 
His  bride's  beloved  father.    Pair  Hilde  was  seen  wailing. 


170  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

Hetel  was  wounded  by  Hagen,  Hagen  by  Wat. 
At  Hilde's  entreaty  the  two  kings  were  reconciled, 
and  the  combat  ended.  Hetel  took  his  bride  to  his 
royal  residence  at  Matelan,  where  the  wedding  was 
celebrated  with  the  consent  and  in  the  presence  of 
King  Hagen. 

SECTION  III. 

IX. -XXXII.  —  Wat,  Morung,  and  Horant  went 
home  to  their  provinces,  while  Hetel  and  Hilde  lived 
in  great  happiness  together,  and  peace  reigned  in 
their  land  for  many  years.  Afterward  two  children 
were  born  to  them,  —  a  maiden  named  Gudrun,  and 
a  son  called  Ortwein.  Gudrun  became  the  most 
beautiful  of  women,  more  beautiful  even  than  her 
mother  had  been,  while  Ortwein  was  instructed  in 
everything  pertaining  to  royal  and  knightly  accom- 
plishments by  the  old  and  faithful  Wat,  and  soon 
became  a  dauntless  champion.  Gudrun  was  wooed 
by  many  kings,  yet  her  father  would  not  bestow  her 
on  any  of  them,  as  he  was  haughty  and  deemed  all 
her  suitors  beneath  his  rank.  One  of  them  was 
Siegfried,  king  of  Moorland,  and  a  warrior  of  peerless 
valor.  The  original  idea  in  regard  to  Moorland  was 
a  land  of  moors  and  heaths  on  the  northern  coast 
of  Germany  ;  yet  according  to  the  predilections  of 
the  age,  our  poet  fancied  a  real  kingdom  of  the 
Moors,  and  thus  Siegfried  appears  in  our  poem  as  a 
pagan  of  dark  complexion.  Siegfried's  suit  was  re- 
jected by  King  Hetel.  Soon  after,  Hartmut,  son  of 
King  Ludwig  of  Normandy,  heard  of  Gudruii's 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  171 

famous  beauty,  and  sent  messengers  to  Hetel  to  de- 
mand her  in  marriage.  His  offer  was  scornfully 
rejected,  as  Ludwig  had  once  been  a  vassal  of  Hagen, 
Hilde's  father.  A  third  wooer  of  great  renown  ap- 
peared in  the  person  of  Herwig  of  Seeland  (probably 
of  the  Friesic  Sealands) ;  but  his  endeavors  to  win 
the  fair  maiden  were  of  no  avail.  Afterward  Hart- 
nmt  himself  came  in  disguise  to  Betel's  court,  and 
secretly  informed  Gudrun  who  he  was.  The  princess, 
filled  with  compassion  at  the  sight  of  the  noble  youth, 
advised  him  to  flee  at  once,  as  his  life  was  at  stake 
if  her  father  should  know  him  and  her  purpose. 
Hartmut  fled,  determined  to  win  the  beautiful  lady 
by  force. 

All  of  a  sudden,  Herwig  of  Seeland  invaded  Hetel's 
realm  with  three  thousand  knights,  and  approached 
the  royal  residence.  A  fierce  combat  took  place  near 
the  castle  gate. 

There  streamed  forth  from  the  helmets    the  wind  as  hot  as 

flame  : 

So  fought  the  dauntless  Herwig.     This  saw  the  royal  dame, 
The  beauteous  maiden  Gudrun.     As  she  the  combat  sighted, 
She  was  at  Herwig's  prowess    both  saddened  and  delighted. 

Hetel  and  Herwig  engaged  in  a  personal  contest. 

Fair  Gudrun  saw  the  combat,     and  heard  the  martial  sound. 
Like  to  a  ball  is  fortune,     and  ever  turns  around. 

Then  from  the  castle  chamber    the  royal  maid  cried  out : 
"  King  Hetel,  noble  father,     the  blood  flows  all  about 
Athwart  the  mighty  hauberks.     With  gore  from  warlike  labor 
The  walls  are  sprinkled.   Herwig    is  a  most  dreadful  neighbor." 


172  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

The  combat  was  interrupted  by  Gudrun's  inter- 
ference. Herwig  declared  his  glowing  love  for  the 
fair  princess,  and  the  latter  gladly  consented  to  be- 
come his  wife.  Peace  and  friendship  were  firmly 
established  between  the  two  parties,  and  the  feast  of 
betrothal  was  celebrated,  while  the  wedding  was  to 
be  held  a  year  after. 

When  Siegfried  of  Moorland  learned  that  Gudrun 
had  been  betrothed  to  Herwig,  he  waxed  wroth,  and 
remembered  the  scornful  rejection  of  his  suit.  He  at 
once  mustered  a  large  army,  and  set  sail  for  Herwig's 
country,  which  he  devastated  with  merciless  hand. 
Herwig's  warriors  fought  bravely  against  their  foes, 
but  were  sorely  pressed  by  their  superior  numbers. 
Herwig  sent  messengers  to  Gudrun  to  apprise  her  of 
his  calamity.  At  her  eager  supplication,  Hetel,  fol- 
lowed by  Wat,  Morung,  and  Horant,  with  a  powerful 
host,  set  out  to  aid  Herwig.  After  long  and  fierce 
fighting  Siegfried  was  compelled  to  take  refuge  in 
a  fortress  situated  by  a  large  river,  where  he  was 
besieged  by  his  foes. 

In  the  meantime  Hartmut  had  been  informed  by 
spies  that  Hetel  with  his  great  vassals  had  left  his 
country  on  a  distant  enterprise.  He  therefore  re- 
solved to  invade  the  Hegelingen  land  with  a  mighty 
army,  well  knowing  that  Gudmn  and  her  mother 
had  remained  at  the  castle  of  Matelan  with  a  small 
retinue  of  knights.  The  Normans  landed  on  the 
shore  of  Hetel's  country,  and  Hartmut  sent  mes- 
sengers to  the  royal  castle  again  to  woo  Gudrun. 
The  latter  told  them  artlessly  and  frankly  that  she 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  173 

was  affianced  to  Herwig,  and  therefore  could  not  listen 
to  the  proposals  of  another  man.  Thereupon  the 
Normans  attacked  the  castle,  which  was  taken  and 
destroyed  after  a  fierce  struggle.  Gudrun,  with 
sixty-two  maidens,  was  carried  away  captive  by  the 
Normans,  while  her  mother  Hilde  gazed  mournfully 
on  the  departing  ships.  At  once  messengers  were 
despatched  to  King  Hetel  to  inform  him  of  the  sad 
events  that  had  passed  during  his  absence.  An  hon- 
orable peace  was  concluded  with  Siegfried,  and  the 
latter  declared  his  readiness  to  aid  Hetel  and  Herwig. 
Upon  ships  taken  by  Wat  from  some  pilgrims,  they 
pursued  the  Normans. 

On  an  island,  called  Wiilpensand,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Schelde,  the  Normans  had  rested,  being 
confident  that  they  were  too  far  from  Matelan  to  fear 
King  Hetel's  pursuit.  Yet  all  at  once  there  ap- 
peared some  sails  on  the  sea,  which  the  Normans  at 
first  took  for  ships  of  holy  pilgrims,  but  soon  became 
aware  that  they  belonged  to  the  people  whom  they 
had  sorely  wronged.  Then  took  place  the  famous 
battle  on  the  Wiilpensand,  renowned  in  ancient  songs, 
lasting  from  early  morning  to  night.  Among  the 
Normans,  Ludwig  and  Hartmut  were  the  most  dis- 
tinguished warriors,  while  Hetel,  Wat,  and  Herwig  ac- 
complished deeds  of  prowess  for  the  sake  of  regaining 
the  pure  aud  lovely  Gudrun.  The  landing-place  was 
fiercely  defended  by  the  Normans  against  the  Hegelings. 

Then  all  of  them  pushed  shoreward   and  faced  their  mighty  foe. 
The  winds  from  Alpiue  mountains     ne'er  sweep  the  flakes  of 
snow 


174  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

As  thickly  as  the  javelins    from  warlike  hands  came  flying. 
None  could  prevent  the  damage,     though  all  might  now  be 
trying. 

When  they  had  gained  a  landing,     one  saw  the  foaming  flood, 
From  those  who  fell  in  combat,    all  reddened  deep  with  blood. 
On  every  side  the  billows,     in  crimson  color  flowing, 
Stretched   farther   than   a  javelin     could  reach  by  mighty 
throwing. 

Great  was  the  valor  of  Siegfried  of  Moorland  and 
of  his  knights  who  had  espoused  Betel's  cause. 

No  bolder  knight  than  Siegfried,    the  Moorish  king,  was  seen ; 
That  day  with  blood  he  darkened    full  many  a  hauberk's  sheen. 

The  Normans  held  their  ground  with  unwavering 
firmness,  despite  the  bravery  of  Hetel,  Herwig,  Wat, 
and  Ortwein,  Gudruu's  brother,  and  the  fight  lasted 
until  sundown.  At  last  Hetel  was  slain  by  Ludwig 
of  Normandy,  and  loud  were  the  wailings  of  Gudrun, 
when  she  learned  the  sad  tidings. 

But  when  grim  Wat,  the  hero,    knew  that  his  king  was  dead, 
Then  like  a  wild  boar  roared  he  ;    and  like  the  evening  red, 
From  his  swift  strokes  of  prowess,    the  helmets  were  seen 

gleaming ; 
Both  he  and  all  his  warriors    with  anger  fierce  were  teeming. 

Hotel's  vassals,  eager  to  revenge  the  death  of 
their  king,  slew  some  of  their  own  men,  as  in  the 
darkness  they  could  not  tell  friend  from  foe.  Thus 
the  combat  had  to  cease ;  but  the  Normans  under 
cover  of  the  night  stole  away  to  their  ships,  set  sail, 
and,  carrying  Gudrun  and  the  other  maidens  as  cap- 
tives with  them,  got  clear  of  the  island,  before  the 
Hegelings  became  aware  of  their  stratagem. 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  175 

On  the  break  of  the  following  day  Wat  and  Ort- 
wein  proposed  to  pursue  the  enemy,  but  Frut  declared 
that  it  would  be  of  no  avail,  as  the  Normans  were 
thirty  miles  ahead  of  them,  and  the  remainder  of  the 
Hegeling  host  was  no  match  for  the  great  number  of 
their  foes.  The  dead  were  buried,  and  a  convent  was 
erected  on  the  battle-field  that  prayers  might  be  said 
for  the  souls  of  the  slain  heroes. 

With  heavy  hearts  the  Hegelings  set  sail  for  their 
home,  and  mournful  was  their  entrance  into  the  royal 
castle. 

"  Oh  woe  !  what  can  have  happened  ?  "    the  royal  Hilde  sighed. 
"  Of  old  Sir  Wat  the  warriors    with  broken  bucklers  ride." 

The  gray-bearded  champion  was  eagerly  asked  by 
all  how  it  fared  with  the  king  and  their  friends. 

Then  Wat  of  Sturmland  answered :     "  My  queen,  I  cannot 

feign, 
Nor  yet  will  I  deceive  you  ;    the  men  have  all  been  slain." 

Heart-rending  was  the  grief  of  Hilde  for  the 
death  of  her  husband  and  the  captivity  of  her  daugh- 
ter ;  but  too  few  of  the  Hegelings  were  left  to  think 
of  immediate  revenge. 

Then  spoke  old  Wat,  the  hero  :     "  It  never  can  befall, 
Before  this  country's  children    have  grown  to  manhood  all." 

The  knights  departed,  each  into  his  own  country 
and  castle,  and  their  minds  were  filled  with  the 
thought  of  regaining  Gudrun  and  avenging  their 
distress  on  the  Normans. 

In  the  meantime  the  Normans  had  fared  on  their 
voyage  home,  and  soon  came  in  sight  of  their  country 


176  THE   GREAT   EPICS  OF 

and  of  the  royal  castle.  From  that  time  a  long 
period  of  intense  suffering  began  for  Gudrun,  who 
bore  it  with  patient  endurance,  ever  mindful  of  her 
word  pledged  to  Herwig. 

When  Luchvig  saw  delighted    his  towers  and  castles  there, 
Then  spoke  the  Norman  ruler    to  royal  Gudrun  fair  : 
"Behold  the  castles,  maiden.     You  may  enjoy  great  pleasures  ; 
If  you  to  us  are  gracious,     you'll   have    rich   lands   and 
treasures." 

Then  said  the  noble  maiden,    with  sorrow  deep  and  drear : 
"  To  whom  could  I  be  gracious  ?    Prom  graciousness  I  fear 
I  have,  alas  !  been  parted     so  far  that  naught  can  sever 
Me  now  from  my  misfortunes.     With  grief  I  '11  pine  forever.'* 

To  her  replied  King  Ludwig :     "  Leave  off  your  pain  and  grief ; 
Bestow  your  love  on  Hartmut,     the  peerless  knight  and  chief. 
With  all  our  rich  possessions     you  shall  be  well  requited ; 
You  may  with  that  great  hero    be  honored  and  delighted." 
"  [Leave  me  in  peace,  I  pray  you,"     Queen  Hilde's  daughter 

said. 
"Before  I'd  take  Sir  Hartmut —    I  rather  would  be  dead." 

Gudrun  futhermore  alluded  to  Ludwig's  former 
condition  as  a  vassal  of  King  Hagen,  her  maternal 
grandfather. 

King  Ludwig  heard  with  anger    her  speech  and  her  design ; 
Then  by  the  hair  he  seized  her    and  flung  her  in  the  brine. 

Hartmut  swiftly  sprang  into  the  waves,  caught  her 
by  her  golden  locks,  and  tenderly  placed  her  in  the 
ship. 

He  sai{l :  "  Why  would  you  drown  her    who  is  to  be  my  wife, 
The  fair  and  charming  Gudrun  ?     I  love  her  as  my  life. 
Another  than  my  father,     if  he  had  shown  such  daring, 
Would  lose  bis  life  and  honor    from  wrath  of  mine  unsparing." 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  177 

But  Ludwig  him  gave  answer :     "  I  have  without  a  staia 
Attained  old  age,  and  therefore    in  future  too  would  faiu. 
Live  so  with  all  mine  honor;     until  my  life  is  ended. 
Pray  Gudruu,  that  I  never    be  through  her  ire  offended." 

Messengers  were  sent  to  Gerlind,  Lud  wig's  wife 
and  Hartmut's  mother,  to  apprise  her  of  the  arrival 
of  the  Normans.  Gerliud  and  her  daughter  Ortrun, 
followed  by  a  great  train  of  ladies  and  knights,  went 
to  meet  their  friends  and  Gudrun  at  the  shore.  Or- 
trun and  Gudrun  kissed  each  other ;  but  when  Ger- 
lind drew  near,  ready  to  embrace  Gudrun,  the  latter 
indignantly  repelled  her.  The  fair  princess  rightly 
surmised  that  Gerlind  was  the  chief  cause  of  her 
misfortune,  as  she  had  instigated  her  son  to  carry 
Gudrun  away  by  force. 

Gudrun  was  taken  to  a  castle ;  and  as  she  still  per-  . 
sisted  in  her  love  of  Herwig,  and  scorned  the  thought 
of  marrying  Hartmut,  the  latter  left  her  to  the  care 
of  his  mother,  beseeching  her  to  treat  the  royal  cap- 
tive gently,  and  departed  on  some  warlike  enter- 
prise. Gerlind,  seeing  that  kindness  was  of  no  avail, 
commanded  Gudrun  to  be  separated  from  her  maid- 
ens, and  forced  her  to  do  work  unbefitting  a  queen  or 
a  lady.  In  the  same  manner  she  treated  Gudrun's 
maidens,  who  were  compelled  to  spin  flax  and  weave  it 
into  linen,  or  to  do  housework  ill  suited  to  their  rank. 
After  three  years  and  a  half  Hartmut  returned  home 
from  the  war,  and  bitterly  upbraided  his  mother 
for  her  harsh  treatment  of  Gudrun.  Gerlind  prom- 
ised to  use  her  more  gently ;  but  in  reality  she  was 
more  cruel  than  ever,  forcing  the  fair  and  meek  lady 


178  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

to  heat  the  stove,  and  dust  the  room  with  her  long 
golden  hair.  Yet  Gudrun  submitted  to  all  with 
untiring  patience,  and  always  thought  with  many 
tears  of  her  mother  Hilde.  She  never  wavered  in 
her  fidelity  to  Herwig,  whether  Hartmut  begged 
or  threatened  or  Ortrun  treated  her  with  sisterly 
kindness. 

At  length  Hartmut,  as  all  proved  of  no  avail,  grew 
'  furious,  and  left  Gudrun  entirely  to  the  mercy  of  his 
mother,  who  forced  her  to  go  down  to  the  beach  and 
wash  for  her  and  the  court.  Hildburg,  who  was  one 
of  the  maidens  that  were  with  Hagen  on  the  griffin 
island  and  afterwards  went  with  Hilde  to  Hetel's 
land,  was  now  the  most  faithful  of  Gudrun's  compan- 
ions and  gladly  shared  the  work  with  her.  Despite 
all  her  sufferings,  Gudrun  remained  true  to  her  love. 

Thirteen  years  had  passed  since  Gudrun  was  car- 
ried away  from  her  home  and  made  a  captive  in 
Normandy.  During  that  time  the  youths  in  Hilde's 
kingdom  had  grown  up  to  manhood,  and  the  queen 
was  now  eager  to  send  a  warlike  expedition  against 
her  foes.  Herwig,  Wat,  Horant,  Frut,  Ortwein,  and 
other  great  chiefs  were  summoned  to  Matelan  with 
their  host,  and  gladly  departed  on  the  long-desired 
campaign  against  Ludwig  and  Hartmut.  On  the 
Wiilpensand  the  young  men  visited  the  graves  of 
their  fathers  who  had  been  slain  in  that  memora- 
ble battle  in  which  Hetel  fell  by  Ludwig's  hand. 
There  the  Hegelings  were  joined  by  the  fleet  of  Sieg- 
fried of  Moorland.  After  a  stormy  voyage  they  came 
in  sight  of  the  coast  of  Normandy,  and,  unperceived 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  179 

by  their  foes,  landed  near  a  hill  in  the  vicinity  of  a 
large  forest.  The  arms  and  horses  were  disembarked, 
and  Herwig  and  Ortwein  went  forth  in  a  boat  to 
discover  where  Gudrun  was. 

One  winter  day,  Gudrun  and  Hildburg  were  again  on 
the  beach,  being  forced  to  wash  for  the  cruel  Gerlind, 
as  had  been  their  weary  lot  for  many  years  past. 
All  at  once  there  appeared  on  the  waves  a  strange 
bird,  swimming  towards  them. 

"  Oh  woe  !  fair  bird  !  I  pity    thy  fate,"  said  Hilde's  daughter, 
"  That  thou  hast  come  here  swimming     upon  this  dismal 
water." 

The  bird  was  a  messenger  sent  to  her  by  heaven, 
as  our  poet  says ;  yet  in  the  earlier  form  of  the  saga 
it  was  probably  a  swan  maiden  or  a  mermaid,  skilled 
in  foretelling  the  future.  The  bird  spoke  to  Gudrun 
in  a  human  voice.  • 

"  Rejoice  in  hope,"  then  answered    the  messenger  divine ; 
"Thou  poor  and  homeless  maiden,     great  joy  shall  yet  be 

thine. 

If  thou  wilt  ask  for  tidings    from  thy  dear  native  land, 
To  comfort  thee,  great  heaven    has  sent  me  to  this  strand." 

Gudnm  was  overcome  with  wonder  and  joy  at  the 
unexpected  and  most  welcome  news ;  but  her  first 
question  was,  "  Is  Queen  Hilde  yet  living  ?  She  was 
poor  Gudrun's  mother."  The  bird  answered  all  her 
inquiries  about  Hilde,  Herwig,  Horant,  Frut,  and  Wat, 
and  also  spoke  of  the  warlike  host  that  Hilde  had 
sent  to  rescue  her  from  captivity.  Thereupon  the 
strange  creature  vanished,  bidding  her  be  of  good 


180  THE  GREAT  EPICS   OP 

cheer,  as  on  the  following  day  she  would  meet  two 
of  her  friends. 

"When  the  maidens  returned  to  the  castle  in  the 
evening,  they  were  harshly  scolded  by  Gerlind,  be- 
cause their  work  had  not  been  done  well  and  lay 
unheeded  while  they  spoke  with  the  heavenly  mes- 
senger. They  withdrew  to  their  chamber  to  lie 
down  on  their  hard  beds ;  nevertheless  they  found 
great  consolation  for  all  their  sorrows  in  the  glad  tid- 
ings they  had  heard.  Although  there  was  a  heavy  fall 
of  snow  during  the  night,  Gerlind  forced  them  on  the 
next  morning  to  go  to  the  beach  barefooted,  and  in 
vain  they  asked  the  cruel  woman,  rightly  called  a 
she-wolf  by  our  poet,  to  let  them  put  on  their  shoes. 

They  then  took  up  the  garments    and  went  upon  their  way. 
"  May  God  let  me,"  said  Gudrun,     "  remind  you  of  this  day." 
With  naked  feet  they  waded    there  through  the  ice  and  snow ; 
The  noble  maids,  all  homeless,    were  filled  with  pain  and  woe. 

They  cast  many  a  wistful  glance  towards  the  sea, 
hoping  to  espy  the  promised  aid  from  their  native 
land.  All  at  once  they  perceived  on  the  waves  a 
little  skiff  and  two  men  sitting  in  it,  who  rowed 
towards  the  shore.  Gudrun  and  Hildburg  shivered 
with  cold,  and  were  ashamed  not  only  of  their  scanty 
attire  but  also  of  being  seen  washing  by  their  friends ; 
they  were  about  to  flee,  but  the  two  knights,  who  were 
no  other  than  Herwig  and  Ortwein,  besought  them  by 
their  maiden  honor  to  await  their  approach. 

It  was  about  the  season     when  winter's  eud  draws  nigh, 
And  birds  in  emulation    each  other  will  outvie, 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  181 

And  recommence  their  singing  as  soon  as  March  has  vanished ; 
Midst  snow  and  ice  were  standing    the  maidens,   poor  and 
banished. 

Their  locks  were  dashed  about  them    by  March  winds  furious 

blowing ; 
They  ever  suffered,  whether     't  was  raining  or  't  was  snowing. 

The  knights  were  greatly  astonished  both  at  the 
surprising  beauty  of  the  maidens  and  at  the  harsh 
treatment  they  seemed  to  undergo.  Ortwein  asked 
them  who  was  the  ruler  of  the  land  that  used  them 
so  ill,  and  if  they  had  heard  of  a  foray  which  the 
king  had  made  into  the  land  of  the  Hegelings  by  which 
he  captured  Gudrun  and  many  of  her  ladies.  Gu- 
drun  answered  his  questions,  while  Herwig  was  struck 
with  the  resemblance  that  the  maiden  bore  to  his 
bride ;  but  Gudruu  continued  — 

"  I  am  one  of  the  maidens    whom  Hartmut's  warlike  host 
Had  taken  in  the  combat     and  led  unto  this  coast. 
If  you  seek  here  for  Gudrun,     it  will  be  all  in  vain  ; 
The  royal  Hegling  maiden    is  dead  from  grief  and  pain." 

When  the  two  knights  heard  these  tidings,  their 
eyes  were  filled  with  tears. 

As  she  beheld  them  weeping    and  wailing  for  her  sake, 
The  poor  and  homeless  maiden     unto  those  champions  spake : 
"  You  seem  to  be  afflicted  ;     so  sad  appears  your  bearing 
As  were  you  Gudrun's  kindred,    ye  heroes  good  and  daring." 

There  spoke  the  royal  Herwig  :     "  As  long  as  lasts  my  life, 
I  '11  mourn  for  her ;     the  maiden  was  to  become  my  wife." 

Gudrun  replied  that  she  had  heard  of  Herwig's 
death,  and  added  that  if  he  were  living,  he  would 


182  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

have  rescued  her.     Thereupon  Herwig  showed  her 
his  ring  of  betrothal. 

Then  smiled  with  joy  the  lady,  and  said  to  him  :  "  I  know 

That  golden  ring  most  surely ;  't  was  mine  long  years  ago. 

And  now  you  shall  behold  one  from  my  beloved  one's  hand, 

When  I  with  joy  was  dwelling  within  my  father's  land." 

Herwig,  enraptured  at  seeing  his  bride,  clasped  her 
in  his  arms  and  kissed  her  tenderly.  He  intended 
to  take  her  with  him  at  once. 

But  Ortwein  spoke,  the  warrior :     "  That  never  shall  befall : 
Had  I  a  hundred  sisters,     I  'd  see  them  dying  all, 
Before  in  foreign  country    I  should  think  of  concealing 
Myself,  and  take  from  enemies    a  captured  maid  by  stealing." 

In  vain  Herwig  alleged  his  fear  that  if  the  Nor- 
mans should  become  aware  of  their  presence,  they 
might  carry  away  Gudrun  to  some  secret  and  distant 
place  where  her  friends  could  never  find  her.  Ort- 
weiu  insisted  on  rescuing  Gudrun  together  with  the 
noble  ladies  who  had  shared  her  fate.  Then  the  two 
knights  took  leave  of  the  maidens,  promising  them 
to  be  on  the  next  morning  with  eighty  thousand  men 
before  the  gates  of  the  Norman  castle. 

Gudrun  and  Hildburg  gazed  with  mingled  joy  and 
pain  after  their  friends  as  they  departed  in  their  boat. 
Gudrun  flung  the  robes  belonging  to  Gerlind  into  the 
sea,  and  declared  that  she  would  no  longer  do  such 
low  service  for  the  cruel  queen,  as  two  kings  had 
kissed  her.  When  Gerlind  heard  in  the  evening  that 
Gudrun  had  thrown  away  the  garments,  she  was  full 
of  rage  and  threatened  to  have  her  beaten  with  a  rod 


MEDIAEVAL    GERMANY.  183 

of  thorns.  She  would  have  carried  out  her  menace, 
if  Gudrun  had  not  dissembled  her  feelings  and  prom- 
ised to  marry  Hartmut.  The  latter  was  at  once  ap- 
prised of  Gudrun's  desire  and  hastened  to  meet  her. 
When  he  sought  to  embrace  her,  she  stepped  back 
modestly  and  told  him  that  it  was  unbefitting  a  great 
king  to  kiss  a  poor  maiden  like  her ;  but  when  she 
should  be  his  queen,  he  might  clasp  her  in  his  arms 
in  the  presence  of  the  court.  At  Gudrun's  desire 
warm  baths  were  prepared  for  her  and  her  ladies,  and 
rich  garments  were  given  to  all  of  them.  In  the 
evening  they  sat  down  with  the  Normans  to  a  great 
feast,  and  Gudrun  requested  Hartmut  to  despatch  a 
number  of  his  knights  as  messengers  through  the 
whole  of  Normandy  to  invite  his  friends  to  the  wed- 
ding, as  she  cunningly  thought  that  in  this  manner 
the  Hegelings  would  encounter  less  foes  in  the  com- 
ing combat.  After  the  feast  was  over,  Gudrun  was 
left  alone  with  her  maidens,  and  then  she  told  them 
in  secret  the  glad  tidings  which  she  had  received ; 
she  promised  at  the  same  time  a  great  reward  to  her 
who  would  first  announce  to  her  the  break  of  day  on 
the  following  morning.  The  maidens,  filled  with 
great  joy  at  the  approaching  rescue  from  captivity, 
withdrew  to  their  chambers. 

In  the  meantime  Herwig  and  Ortwein  had  reached 
the  encampment  of  their  host,  and  great  was  the 
wonder  of  their  friends  when  they  heard  that  the  two 
knights  had  spoken  with  Gudrun.  Their  wrath  was 
unbounded  when  they  learned  how  the  noble  princess 
was  kept  in  thrall  by  Gerlind ;  and  some  of  Gudrun's 


184  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

kindred  began  to   weep.     The   old   champion  Wat 
grew  angry  at  their  effeminacy,  and  said,  — 

"  If  you  will  aid  fair  Gudrun    from  her  distress  so  dread, 
Then  you  must  dye  the  garments    she  washed  in  bloody  red." 

The  Hegeling  warriors  decided  to  attack  the  Nor- 
mans at  once,  since  further  delay  would  prove  dan- 
gerous, as  the  enemy  might  be  informed  of  their 
approach  and  take  Gudrun  to  some  secret  hiding- 
place.  The  fearless  Wat  declared,  — 

"  The  air  is  now  so  cheerful,     so  clear  and  calm  the  night ; 
The  moon  doth  shine  so  brightly :     this  gives  me  great  delight. 
Ye  valiant  knights  and  heroes,     now  let  us  sail  from  here ; 
We  '11  be  at  Ludwig's  castle    ere  morning  doth  appear." 

They  obeyed  the  command  of  Wat,  and  sailed 
quietly  by  moonlight  before  Ludwig's  palace.  Wat 
told  them  to  refresh  themselves  by  a  short  sleep  and 
to  be  ready  for  combat  at  sunrise,  when  he  was  to 
blow  three  times  into  his  great  horn. 

The  morning  star  had  risen    upon  the  heavens  high, 
When  to  the  castle  window    a  beauteous  maid  drew  nigh, 
In  order  to  espy  there     and  watch  the  break  of  day, 
Whereby  from  royal  Gudrun    she  would  obtain  rich  pay. 

There  looked  the  noble  maiden    and  saw  the  morning  glow. 
Reflected  in  the  water,     as  it  might  well  be  so, 
Were  seen  the  shining  helmets     and  many  bucklers  beaming. 
The  castle  was  surrounded ;    with  arms  the  fields  were  gleaming. 

Gudrun  was  apprised  of  the  arrival  of  the  mighty 
host  that  had  come  to  her  rescue,  and  she  hastened  to 
the  window. 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  185 

She  saw  the  powerful  sailers    all  floating  on  the  brine. 
Then  spoke  the  royal  lady :     "  What  pain  will  yet  be  mine  ! 
Alas  !  I  God-forsaken,     that  ever  I  saw  life  ! 
Full  many  a  dauntless  hero    will  die  to-day  in  strife." 

At  the  same  time  the  watchman  from  Ludwig's 
tower  called  the  Normans  to  arms.  Soon  they  were 
ready,  and  as  the  gates  were  thrown  open  the  knights 
of  Ludwig  and  Hartnmt  rode  out  of  the  castle  to 
encounter  their  foes. 

Now  came  the  time  for  combat.     The  hero  of  Sturmland 
Began  to  blow  his  bugle,    that  round  about  the  strand 
It  thirty  miles  resounded,     through  his  most  powerful  manner. 
The  Hegeling  knights  all  hastened    to  join  fair  Hilde's  banner. 

Again  he  blew  his  bugle,     and  at  the  mighty  blast 
By  his  command  each  champion    sat  in  his  saddle  fast. 
The  leaders  of  the  army    arrayed  their  warriors  daring, 
And  ne'er  old  knight  in  combat    was  seen  of  loftier  bearing. 

The  warlike  chief  with  puissance    then  blew  his  horn  once 

more; 

The  billows  all  re-echoed,     there  trembled  all  the  shore ; 
The  walls  of  Ludwig's  castle    well-nigh  were  giving  way. 
Sir  Horaud  bore  the  banner    of  Hilde  to  the  fray. 

Of  Wat  all  stood  in  terror ;     in  silence  forth  they  went. 
A  horse  was  then  heard  neighing.     High  on  the  battlement 
King  Herwig's  bride  was  standing ;     full  many  a  dauntless 

knight 
Rode  forth  in  stately  fashion    'gainst  Hartmut  to  the  fight. 

The  combat  began  at  once  in  front  of  the  castle, 
from  whose  battlements  Gudrun  gazed  down  upon 
the  host.  The  Normans  fought  with  desperate  valor, 
but  Wat  raged  like  a  furious  lion  among  his  foes. 
Hartmut  distinguished  himself  greatly  by  his  prowess, 


186  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

and  wounded  Ortwein  and  Horant.  Herwig  assailed 
King  Ludwig  with  great  rage,  but  was  struck  down 
by  the  latter  and  only  saved  from  instant  death  by 
his  vassals  who  hastened  to  his  rescue.  As  soon  as 
he  recovered  from  his  fall,  his  first  thought  was 
whether  Gudrun  had  seen  him  overthrown  by  Lud- 
wig. Ashamed  of  his  defeat  in  the  sight  of  his  fair 
bride,  he  followed  the  fierce  old  Norman  king,  who 
was  about  to  withdraw  into  his  castle,  and  challenged 
him  to  combat.  Ludwig  turned  round  to  face  his 
adversary,  and  after  a  bitter  fight  was  slain  by  Her- 
wig; thus  the  latter  revenged  the  death  of  King 
Hetel  on  the  Wiilpeusand. 

Hartmut  was  not  aware  that  his  father  had  fallen, 
but  as  he  heard  the  Norman  women  in  the  castle 
crying,  and  as  many  of  his  men  were  slain,  he  called 
his  knights  together  so  that  they  might  fight  their 
way  back.  As  soon  as  Wat  perceived  this,  he  tried 
to  overtake  them. 

He  came  unto  the  gateways    with  all  his  warriors'  might, 
As  Hartmut  meant  to  enter    his  burgh  with  mauy  a  knight. 

On  Wat  and  on  his  champions    they  hurled  down  from  the 

tower 

Huge  stones,  as  if  from  heaven    there  came  a  thunder-shower. 
The  dauntless  Wat  recked  little    who  was  alive  or  dying ; 
How  he  could  win  the  battle,    was  all  that  he  was  trying. 

Hartmut's  courage  grew  with  the  danger,  and  al- 
though he  saw  that  the  castle  was  surrounded  on  all 
sides  and  that  grim  Wat  stood  at  one  of  the  gates,  he 
fought  with  undaunted  valor.  The  Norman  knights 
under  Hartmut's  command  cut  their  way  through 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  187 

Wat's  men,  and  the  two  hostile  chiefs  encountered 
each  other  in  a  fierce  combat.  In  the  meantime 
Gerlind,  knowing  that  Ludwig  had  been  killed,  gave 
orders  to  slay  Gudrun  and  her  maidens  in  revenge 
for  her  husband's  death.-  Hartnmt,  hearing  Gudrun's 
cries,  magnanimously  prevented  the  foul  deed  by 
threatening  to  hang  on  the  gallows  any  one  who 
should  hurt  her  or  her  companions. 

The  combat  between  Hartmut  and  Wat  continued, 
and  grew  fiercer  every  moment;  although  the  Nor- 
man fought  with  desperate  prowess,  Wat  came  very 
near  slaying  him.  In  this  emergency  Ortrun  be- 
sought Gudrun,  by  the  kindness  she  had  ever  shown 
her,  to  save  her  brother.  Gudrun  called  from  the 
castle  window  to  Herwig  to  separate  the  two  adver- 
saries, and  Herwig  asked  Wat  to  cease  the  contest 
with  Hartmut,  as  it  was  Gudrun's  desire. 

But  Wat  exclaimed  with  anger  :    "  Sir  Herwig  !  hence  !  away  ! 
Should  I  obey  the  women  ?     'T  is  not  my  will  nor  way. 
If  I  should  spare  mine  enemies,     it  would  be  my  undoing : 
I  '11  not  obey.     His  boldness     Sir  Hartmut  shall  be  ruing." 

As  Herwig  thrust  himself  between  the  two  cham- 
pions, Wat  dealt  him  such  a  blow  that  he  fell  to  the 
ground.  His  vassals  bore  him  away,  and  at  the  same 
time  Hartmut  and  eighty  of  his  knights  were  made 
prisoners  of  war. 

The  castle,  called  here  Kassiane,  was  taken  by 
storm  and  plundered;  the  town  was  sacked.  The 
fury  of  Wat  knew  no  bounds  ;  he  did  not  even 
spare  the  children  in  the  cradle,  although  Irolt 
severely  upbraided  him  for  his  barbarous  conduct. 


188  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

Ortrun  implored  Gudrun  to  protect  her  against  the 
unrelenting  foe,  whereupon  Gudrun,  readily  comply- 
ing with  her  request,  told  her  to  stand  among  her 
maidens.  Gerlind  also  came  near  and  threw  herself 
at  Gudrun's  feet,  beseeching  the  fair  princess  to 
shield  her  from  Wat  and  his  men.  The  hero  of 
Sturmland  entered  the  castle  hall  where  the  women 
had  assembled. 

Then  old  Sir  Wat  the  champion    of  them  became  aware ; 
With  gnashing  teeth  in  fury    he  made  his  entrance  there. 
His  ell-long  beard  was  floating    about ;  his  eyes  were  glaring. 
All  stood  in  mortal  terror     of  Wat's  grim  rage  unsparing. 

He  seized  Gerlind,  although  Gudrun  tried  to  save 
her,  and  struck  off  her  head.  At  Gudrun's  bidding 
he  did  not  harm  Ortrun  or  any  of  the  Norman  ladies, 
except  the  duchess  Hergart,  whom  he  slew  because 
she  had  forsaken  Gudrun  in  her  misery  and  gone 
over  to  the  enemy,  wedding  the  Norman  king's  cup- 
bearer. Besides  "Wat,  the  other  vassals  of  Queen 
Hilde  —  among  them,  Frut,  Irolt,  Horant,  and  her 
son  Ortwein,  —  had  distinguished  themselves  greatly 
in  the  combat,  nor  were  Herwig  and  Siegfried  of 
Moorland  second  to  any  in  valor. 

Now  from  the  bitter  contest    the  warriors  rested  all. 
There  came  the  royal  Herwig     into  King  Ludwig's  hall, 
Together  with  his  champions,     their  gear  with  blood  yet 

steaming. 
Dame  Gudrun  well  received  him ;    her  heart  with  love  was 

teeming. 

Great  joy  reigned  among  the  victorious  host  and 
the  rescued  maidens  when  they  met  each  other. 


MEDIEVAL  GERMANY.  189 

The  castle  was  restored  to  order,  so  that  Gudran 
could  dwell  in  it,  while  a  part  of  the  army  plundered 
and  subdued  the  rest  of  the  Norman  kingdom.  After 
they  had  returned  from  their  foray,  they  joyfully  set 
sail  for  the  land  of  the  Hegelings  with  Gudrun  and 
her  retinue.  They  also  carried  with  them  Hartmut 
and  the  other  prisoners,  besides  a  large  and  rich  booty. 
Horant  and  Morung  remained  in  Normandy  with  a 
strong  garrison. 

Queen  Hilde  at  Matelan,  having  been  informed  by 
messengers  of  the  successful  issue  of  the  campaign 
against  the  Normans,  was  overcome  with  joy  as  she 
heard  that  her  daughter  was  soon  to  be  restored  to 
her.  When  the  victorious  army  landed  at  Matelan, 
the  queen  left  the  castle  and  rode  to  the  beach, 
where  she  bade  a  hearty  welcome  to  her  friends. 
Among  the  great  number  of  ladies  she  did  not  at 
once  recognize  her  daughter,  as  she  had  not  seen  her 
for  many  years,  but  the  knight  Irolt  led  Gudrun  to 
her. 

"  My  queen,  this  is  your  daughter,"    Irolt  began  to  say. 
The  queen  drew  near  to  Gudrun.     Could  any  one  outweigh 
The  joy  they  felt  together    with  any  wealth  or  treasure  ? 
When  they  had  kissed  each  other    their  grief  was  changed  to 
pleasure 

At  Gudrun's  eager  request  Hilde  became  favorably 
disposed  towards  Ortrun  and  embraced  her.  Gu- 
drun's noble  character  was  manifested  in  yet  another 
manner,  as  she  ceased  not  to  supplicate  her  mother, 
till  the  latter  consented  to  free  Hartmut  and  the 
other  captives  from  their  bonds.  The  Norman  prince 


190  THE   GREAT  EPICS. 

and  his  champions  were  then  kindly  received  by  the 
queen. 

Thereupon  came  the  preparations  for  Herwig's  and 
Gudrun's  wedding ;  and  in  order  to  put  forever  an  end 
to  the  strife  and  hatred  of  the  peoples  that  had  fought 
so  bitterly  against  each  other,  the  Norman  princess 
Ortrun  was  married  to  Ortwein,  Gudrun's  brother, 
and  Hartmut  wedded  Hildburg,  who  had  shared  Gu- 
drun's captivity  in  such  a  faithful  manner.  Herwig's 
sister  was  married  to  Siegfried.  After  the  wedding- 
feasts  of  the  four  kings  were  ended,  they  departed 
with  their  wives  into  their  own  countries.  Thus, 
after  years  of  bloody  warfare,  peace  and  tranquillity 
were  established  among  these  wild  sea-faring  tribes, 
and  joy  and  festivity  reigned  in  the  lands  of  the 
conquerors  and  of  the  vanquished. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

OUTLINE  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  "GUDRUN." 

As  has  been  said  in  regard  to  the  Nibelung 
story,  a  great  national  saga  consists  of  mythical  and 
historical  elements.  Yet  in  a  poem  that  has  been 
handed  down  to  us  in  only  one  manuscript,  and  that 
as  late  as  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
it  is  very  difficult,  and  in  many  instances  well- 
nigh  impossible,  to  trace  out  the  mythical  and 
historical  relations  of  the  saga,  since  evidently  the 
original  work  had  passed  through  many  transforma- 
tions, together  with  additions  and  omissions,  before  it 
assumed  the  form  in  which  our  epic  appears.  The 
nearest  approach  to  the  primitive  version  of  the  saga, 
or  at  least  to  that  part  of  it  which  contains  Ha- 
gcn's  war  with  Hetel  in  order  to  regain  his  daughter 
Hilde,  is  found  in  the  Younger  Edda,*  where  we  read 
the  following  account.  King  Hogni  (Hagen)  had  a 
daughter  whose  name  was  Hilde.  King  Hedin,  son 
of  Hjarrandi,  made  her  a  prisoner  of  war  while  Hogni 
had  gone  to  the  assembly  of  the  kings.  But  when 
he  learned  that  war  had  been  waged  in  his  realm 

*  P.  53. 


192  THE  GREAT   EPICS   OF 

and  his  daughter  had  been  taken  away,  he  set  out 
with  his  men  in  search  of  Hedin,  and  learned  that  he 
had  sailed  northward  along  the  coast.  When  Hogni 
came  to  Norway,  he  was  informed  that  Hedin  had 
sailed  westward.  Then  Hogni  sailed  after  him  to  the 
Orkneys,  and  when  he  came  to  the  island  called  Haey, 
Hedin  was  there  before  it  with  his  people.  Hilde 
went  to  her  father  and  offered  him  in  Hedin's  name  a 
necklace,  as  reconciliation  ;  if  he  should  refuse  it,  she 
said,  Hedin  was  ready  for  battle,  and  Hogni  might 
expect  no  mercy  from  him.  Hogni  answered  his 
daughter  harshly,  and  when  she  came  back  to  Hedin 
she  told  him  that  Hogni  would  have  no  reconcilia- 
tion, and  bade  him  prepare  for  battle.  Both  chiefs, 
full  of  anger,  landed  on  the  island  and  arrayed  their 
hosts  for  combat.  Then  Hedin  called  to  Hogni, 
his  father-in-law,  and  offered  him  reconciliation  and 
much  gold  as  atonement.  But  Hogni  answered :  "  Too 
late  dost  thou  offer  this,  if  thou  desirest  peace,  for 
now  I  have  drawn  my  sword  Dainsleif,  which  was 
forged  by  dwarfs  and  must  be  the  death  of  a  man 
whenever  it  is  drawn ;  its  blows  never  miss  their  aim 
and  the  wounds  made  by  it  never  heal."  Then  said 
Hedin  :  "  Thou  makest  boast  of  the  sword,  but  not  of 
the  victory  ;  that  I  call  a  good  sword  which  is  faith- 
ful to  its  master."  They  began  the  battle  which 
is  called  Hjadninga-vig  (the  battle  of  the  Hjadnings), 
and  fought  the  whole  day,  and  in  the  evening  the 
kings  went  back  to  their  ships.  But  in  the  night 
Hilde  went  to  the  battle-field  and  by  magic  craft 
waked  up  all  the  dead  that  had  fallen ;  and  on  the 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  193 

next  day  the  kings  went  to  the  battle-field  and 
fought,  as  did  all  those  who  had  fallen  the  day 
before.  Thus  the  battle  continued  day  after  day; 
and  all  those  who  fell,  and  all  the  swords  that  lay  on 
the  battle-field,  and  likewise  the  shields,  became  stone. 
But  as  soon  as  day  appeared,  all  the  dead  arose  again 
and  fought,  and  all  the  weapons  became  new  again. 
Thus,  it  is  said  in  songs,  the  Hjadnings  will  continue 
until  Ragnarok.* 

A  somewhat  similar  account  is  found  in  the  writ- 
ings of  the  Danish  historian  Saxo  Grammaticus. 
Hithinus,  the  king  of  a  Norwegian  tribe  and  ally  of 
Frotho  III.,  the  saga-renowned  king  of  the  Danes 
(Frut  in  our  poem),  is  filled  with  fervent  love  for 
Hilde,  the  daughter  of  Hoginus,  king  of  the  Jutes, 
even  before  he  has  seen  her.  His  love  is  ardently 
returned  by  the  maiden.  Hoginus  and  Hithinus 
depart  together  on  predatory  warfare,  and  the  for- 
mer affiances  his  daughter  to  Hithinus.  Both  kings 
pledge  themselves  by  oath  that  the  one  who  sur- 
vives will  avenge  the  death  of  the  other.  After- 
wards Hithinus  is  falsely  accused  of  having  seduced 
Hilde,  whereupon  her  father  with  his  army  attacks 
Hithinus,  but  is  defeated  by  the  latter  and  forced 
to  flee  to  Jutland.  As  the  peace  of  the  land  is 
thus  disturbed,  Frotho  summons  the  two  chiefs  and 
tries  to  reconcile  them.  His  endeavors  are  of  no 
avail,  and  a  single  combat  is  to  decide  the  fate  of 
the  two  adversaries.  Hoginus  is  of  gigantic  strength 
and  overcomes  his  foe,  but  his  heart  is  touched  by 
*  p.  121. 


194  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

the  youth  and  beauty  of  Hithinus,  whose  life  is 
therefore  spared  by  the  victor.  Seven  years  later, 
the  battle  is  renewed,  and  both  warriors  slay  each 
other  near  the  island  of  Hithins-6e.  But  Hilde,  as 
Saxo  relates,  is  said  to  have  loved  her  husband  so 
ardently  that  in  order  to  recommence  the  contest,  she 
waked  up  at  night  the  slain  heroes  by  her  magic 
songs.* 

Hilde  was  originally  a  mythical  personage,  a  valky- 
rie ;  the  signification  of  hild  is  strife,  or  war,  which 
appears  in  many  compounds  of  the  word,  as  in  "  Bryn- 
hild,"  meaning,  as  has  been  said  before,  a  warrior 
maiden  clad  in  the  byrny,  or  coat  of  mail.  The  primi- 
tively mythical  character  of  the  story  is  still  seen  in 
the  account  of  the  Younger  Edda,  although  the  valkyrie 
is  there  merely  the  daughter  of  a  king.  Yet  one  of 
the  striking  characteristics,  and  a  veiy  common  inci- 
dent in  the  course  of  development  from  myths  to 
sagas,  is  the  transformation  of  gods  and  goddesses 
into  human  beings,  heroes  and  heroines.  In  fact 
the  awakening  of  the  slain  would  hardly  be  intel- 
ligible without  the  mythical  background;  it  is  the 
valkyrie  who  ever  excites  to  battle.  As  to  the  original 
signification  of  the  whole  myth,  nothing  absolutely 
certain  can  be  said.  Many  scholars  maintain  that 
the  ever-renewed  battle  denotes  the  struggle  between 
light  and  darkness,  summer  and  winter.  Yet  unless 
there  is  sufficient  evidence  to  justify  such  an  ex- 
planation, as  for  instance  in  the  Nibelung  story, 

*  The  following  remarks  on  the  Hilde  saga  are  mainly  based  on 
the  "  Inaugural  Dissertation  of  G.  L.  Klee,  Leipzig,  1873." 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  195 

mythical  interpretations  of  this  kind  must  be  received 
with  some  caution,  since  almost  every  saga-renowned 
war  might  in  some  way  be  explained  by  a  solar  myth. 
Upon  the  whole,  the  account  in  the  Younger  Edda  is 
more  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  ancient  tradi- 
tions than  the  report  of  Saxo.  Among  the  nations 
of  antiquity,  the  carrying  away  of  women  and  espe- 
cially of  king's  daughters  has  ever  been  a  sufficient 
cause  for  the  most  bitter  contests,  and  thus  the  story 
as  related  in  the  Younger  Edda  is  in  this  respect  in 
agreement  with  early  customs.  In  Saxo's  statement 
that  Hithinus  had  seduced  Hilde,  who  was  affianced 
to  him  with  her  father's  consent,  there  appears  hardly 
ground  enough  for  an  endless  war,  and  moreover 
the  accusation  was  untrue.  The  author  of  the 
Younger  Edda,  although  a  Christian,  is  fair  in  the 
treatment  of  the  ancient  beliefs  of  his  race,  and  often 
relates  his  stories  according  to  the  contents  of  early 
songs.  On  the  other  hand,  Saxo  pretends  to  give  an 
historical  color  to  the  myths,  tries  to  place  them 
under  the  reigns  of  his  Danish  kings,  and  sometimes 
invents  motives  of  action  when  he  has  no  true  under- 
standing of  the  original  meaning  of  the  subject.  It 
is  probable  that  in  the  earliest  version  of  the  myth 
Hoginus  and  Hithinus  slay  each  other,  and  this  is 
indeed  the  account  of  Saxo,  while  this  incident  is  not 
mentioned  in  the  Younger  Edda.  It  was  perhaps 
omitted  in  the  latter,  as  it  was  considered  a  matter  of 
course.  In  the  ancient  forms  of  sagas  of  this  kind 
the  end  is  generally  of  a  tragic  nature,  whi^e  in  the 
later  transformations  by  the  impress  of  gentler  man- 


196  THE   GREAT   EPICS  OF 

ners  and  customs,  there  appears  a  tendency  to  soften 
the  gloomy  aspect  of  the  earlier  traditions,  as  can  be 
seen  in  our  epic  when  compared  with  the  Northern 
stories.  In  one  instance  Saxo's  account  is  of  great 
importance  and  preferable  to  the  Younger  Edda.  In 
the  latter  it  is  distinctly  stated  that  the  slain  heroes 
continue  the  battle  by  day,  while  in  the  former  it 
appears  that  the  contest  takes  place  at  night,  which 
is  in  accordance  with  the  manner  in  which  spectral 
combats  are  always  described.  In  this  connection  it 
deserves  to  be  noticed  that  the  change  of  certain 
fabulous  beings  into  stone  when  they  are  surprised 
by  the  rays  of  the  morning  sun,  is  a  common  occur- 
rence in  saga  lore. 

Although  the  myth  of  Hilde  has  become  a  hero- 
saga  in  Germany,  there  may  yet  be  detected  a  faint 
remembrance  of  early  mythology  in  our  poem,  as  for 
instance  in  the  appearance  of  grim  Wat,  who  reminds 
ns  of  a  storm  giant.  The  fate  of  Gudrun  in  the 
German  epic  is  a  repetition  of  that  of  her  mother 
Hilde,  amplified  and  somewhat  changed,  partly  by  the 
poet  and  partly  by  the  influence  of  other  sagas. 

The  carrying  away  of  Hilde  during  her  father's 
absence,  in  the  Younger  Edda,  agrees  more  with  the 
capture  of  Gudrun  by  the  Normans,  who  are  pursued  by 
the  father  of  the  maiden  and  with  whom  he  fights  in 
the  renowned  battle  on  the  Wiilpensand.  The  saga 
of  Hilde  is,  so  to  speak,  the  nucleus  around  which 
the  other  incidents  were  afterwards  gathered ;  and  it 
is  thus  not  surprising  that  the  names  of  the  ancient 
heroes,  as  Hagen  and  Hetel  (Hedin,  Hithinus),  appear 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  197 

in  the  story  of  Hilde,  while  the  chief  occurrences  in 
the  old  traditions,  as  has  been  indicated,  are  mainly 
in  accordance  with  the  section  in  our  poem  treating 
of  Gudrun.  The  story  of  Hagen's  childhood  had  no 
connection  with  the  saga,  but  is  a  product  of  later 
times,  probably  in  part  the  invention  of  the  poet  and 
partly  introduced  from  other  similar  sagas.  Besides 
the  change  of  gods  into  men,  there  is  another  charac- 
teristic, which  is  visible  in  the  transformation  of  a 
myth  into  a  saga ;  this  is  the  fact  that  in  the  latter 
the  events  are  represented  as  occurring  in  certain 
localities.  Yet  the  scene  of  the  great  battle  is  as- 
cribed in  the  various  accounts  to  different  places. 
In  the  Younger  Edda,  which  in  all  probability  con- 
tains also  in  this  respect  the  earliest  version,  it  is 
the  island  Haey  (high  island),  now  called  Hoy,  one 
of  the  Orkney  islands ;  while  Saxo  reports  that  the 
contest  took  place  at  Hithins-oe  (Hediusey),  an  island 
situated  at  the  west  of  Riigen  and  now  named  Hid- 
densee.  In  Germany  the  scene  of  action  was  supposed 
to  be  the  Wiilpensand  or  "Wulpenwert,  near  the  western 
mouth  of  the  Scheldt.  The  earliest  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  the  saga  on  German  soil  is  found  in 
Lamprecht's  poem  "Alexander," which  belongs  to  the 
first  half  of  the  twelfth  century.  The  poet,  describ- 
ing the  battle  between  Alexander  and  the  Persians, 
compares  it  with  the  great  war  on  the  Wiilpensand. 
It  is  proved  by  documentary  evidences  of  the  years 
1167  and  1190,  that  there  was  a  place  called  Vulpa 
or  Wulpen,  near  the  western  mouth  of  the  Scheldt, 
and  it  appears  on  maps  of  the  Middle  Ages.  In 


198  THE   GREAT  EPICS  OF 

Lamprecht's  allusion  to  the  great  battle  the  fight  was 
for  Hilde  and  not  for  Gudrun,  and  thus  the  saga 
with  which  Lamprecht  was  acquainted  agreed  in 
this  respect  with  the  Northern  accounts.  The  poet 
refers  to  the  war  for  the  sake  of  Hilde  as  to  some- 
thing very  well  known,  yet  he  mentions  in  his  brief 
allusion  three  personages,  Wat,  Herwig,  and  Wolf- 
win,*  who  do  not  occur  in  the  Northern  sagas,  and 
seem  to  have  been  introduced  afterwards  in  Ger- 
many. It  appears  therefore  most  probable  that  -the 
saga  in  this  form  was  known  in  the  regions  of  the 
Lower  Ehine,  the  home  of  Lamprecht's  "  Alexander," 
and  near  the  Scheldt,  as  early  as  the  beginning  of 
the  eleventh  century. 

A  very  few  traces  of  the  existence  of  the  saga  in 
England  are  to  be  found  in  Anglo-Saxon  poetry, 
especially  in  "  Deors  Lament,"  supposed  to  be  of  the 
eighth  century.  It  contains  a  reference  to  Horant 
as  the  minstrel  of  the  Heodenings  (the  Northern 
Hjadnings  and  the  people  of  Hetel  in  the  German 
epic).  Thus  Horant's  minstrelsy,  so  much  celebrated 
in  the  German  epic,  was  known  even  in  some  of  the 
earlier  forms  of  the  saga.  According  to  Dr.  Klee, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  Horant,  the  northern  Hjar- 
randi,  father  of  Hedin,  was  originally  Odin  him- 
self, as  appears  from  the  etymology  of  the  name,  f 
taken  in  connection  with  the  epithet  given  to  Odin 
and  the  fact  that  the  latter  was  also  the  god  of  song. 
In  the  later  transformations  of  the  story,  Horant 

*  Identical  with  Ortwin,  Gudrun's  brother. 
t  Cf.  Dr.  Klee,  p.  iv. 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  199 

became  the  vassal  of  Hetel  (Hedin).  His  fame  was 
widely  spread  and  he  was  one  of  the  most  popular 
heroes.  In  the  German  poem  "  Salman  und  Morolt," 
a  work  belonging  to  the  twelfth  century,  three  things 
are  represented  as  the  most  desirable  in  the  world ; 
these  are  Salomon's  wisdom,  Absalon's  beauty,  and 
Horant's  sweet  song.  Also  poets  of  the  thirteenth 
century  mention  the  famous  minstrel,  and  in  the 
"  Wartburg  Krieg  "  Wolfram  von  Eschenbach  is  said 
to  have  appeared  there,  like  Horant  before  Queen 
Hilde.  This  is  certainly  a  reference  to  the  scene 
when  Horaut  sings  before  the  royal  maiden. 

The  Hilde  saga  came  probably  to  the  shores  of 
Scotland  and  England  from  the  Orkney  islands. 
Not  far  from  the  latter,  on  the  Shetland  island  Tula 
or  Fowl,  the  story  of  Hilde  existed  as  late  as  the  end 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  had  retained  many 
traces  of  its  early  origin.  It  was  preserved  in  the 
form  of  a  ballad,  and  written  down  by  a  Scotchman, 
named  Low,  to  whom  a  Norse  peasant  had  dictated 
the  poem.  In  1808  it  appeared  in  print  in  Barry's 
"  History  of  the  Orkney  Islands."  The  language  of 
this  Shetland  ballad  js  not  intelligible  throughout, 
but  it  certainly  contains  a  version  of  the  Hilde 
saga.  The  Norse  peasant,  mentioned  above,  com- 
municated to  Mr.  Low  the  contents  of  the  ballad, 
which  was  translated  by  the  well-known  scholar, 
P.  E.  Munch,  and  reads  as  follows. 

Hiluge,  a  nobleman  at  the  court  of  Norway,  wooed 
the  king's  daughter  Hildiria.  She  rejected  his  hom- 
age, although  her  father  was  well  disposed  towards 


200  THE  GREAT  EPICS  OF 

him.  Once  after  the  king  and  Hiluge  had  departed 
on  a  warlike  expedition,  the  Earl  of  Orkney  landed 
in  Norway.  He  was  seized  with  ardent  love  for 
Hildina,  who  returned  his  affection.  Soon  after  .they 
fled  together  to  the  Orkney  islands.  When  the 
king  and  Hiluge  returned  from  their  war,  they  fol- 
lowed the  earl  to  revenge  the  insult  of  the  stranger. 
Hildina  persuaded  her  lover  to  meet  her  father  and 
ask  his  pardon ;  the  king  was  touched  by  the  earl's 
entreaties,  and  gave  his  consent  to  the  marriage. 
But  hardly  had  the  earl  departed  to  apprise  Hildina 
of  his  success,  when  Hiluge,  upbraiding  the  stranger 
for  his  insolence,  aroused  the  king's  wrath  again,  and 
induced  him  to  take  back  his  promise.  A  combat 
took  place  between  Hiluge  and  the  earl,  and  the 
latter  was  slain.  Hiluge,  with  scornful  words,  threw 
the  head  of  his  adversary  before  the  feet  of  Hildina, 
who  in  her  inmost  heart  vowed  to  wreak  bloody 
vengeance.  She  was  forced  to  follow  Hiluge  to 
Norway,  and  at  last,  yielding  to  her  father's  urgent 
requests,  she  promised  to  marry  Hiluge  if  she  would 
be  allowed  to  pour  out  the  wine  into  the  goblets  at 
the  wedding-feast.  When  all  the  guests  were  at  table, 
Hildina  gave  them  wine  mingled  with  herbs,  that  put 
them  into  a  heavy  sleep.  Then  she  caused  her  father 
to  be  carried  out  of  the  hall,  and  afterwards  set  fire 
to  the  house.  All  were  burned  ;  and  as  Hiluge,  who 
awoke  at  the  crackling  of  the  flames,  asked  Hildina's 
pardon,  she  spoke  to  him  as  harshly  as  he  had  done 
when  he  threw  the  earl's  head  at  her  feet.  Hiluge 
died  in  the  glowing  fixe. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  201 

Dr.  Klee  says  :  "  The  grand  tragedy  of  this  action 
makes  us  again  regret  the  unintelligibility  of  the 
poem.  ...  The  greatest  deviation  from  the  older  saga 
is  caused  by  the  introduction  of  a  rival,  Hiluge.  We 
see  the  same  process  performed  in  the  German  Gudrun 
saga,  and  this  fact  suggests  a  connection  between  the 
t\vo  versions.  The  late  tradition  of  the  Shetland 
ballad  can  be  no  reason  against  this  assumption ; 
the  songs  of  Faroe  were  written  down  only  in  1817, 
and  it  is  natural  that  in  regions  so  remote  as  the 
Shetland  islands,  antique  features  should  be  preserved 
longest  in  a  pure  form.  Although  it  may  be  as- 
serted that  the  idea  of  introducing  a  rival  is  so 
simple  and  self-evident  that  it  may  have  been  car- 
ried out  independently  in  the  North  and  in  Germany, 
nevertheless  that  introduction  can  -possibly  have 
taken  place  in  some  versions,  as  the  echo  of  which 
the  Orkney  *  ballad  appears,  before  the  saga  was 
transferred  to  Germany.  Also  the  other  important 
deviations,  especially  the  fact  that  in  the  Shetland 
ballad  the  beloved  suitor  carries  away  the  maiden,  and 
the  latter  hates  his  rival,  while  the  case  is  reversed 
in  '  Gudrun/  are  no  conclusive  evidence  against  this 
theory.  What  extraordinary  deviations  are  met  with, 
for  instance,  in  the  treatment  of  the  end  of  the  Nibe- 
lung  saga,  in  the  Edda,  and  in  the  Nibelungen  Lied  ! " 

The  ancient  character  and  truly  popular  type  of 
the  Shetland  ballad  form  a  striking  contrast  to  an 
Icelandic  saga  which  is  of  much  earlier  date  than 
the  former.  This  is  the  so-called  Sorla  thattrj 

*  Shetland.  t  Thaitr  means  a  brief  story. 


202  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

belonging  to  the  fourteenth  or  perhaps  the  thirteenth 
century.  It  contains  a  version  of  the  Hilde  story, 
but  in  a  greatly  disfigured  shape.  This  change  can 
be  accounted  for  by  the  prevailing  tendency  in  the 
saga  to  place  the  ancient  religion  of  Odin  in  a  most 
disadvantageous  light,  arid  to  show  the  cruelty  and 
unreasonableness  of  the  former  paganism.  *  Whatever 
benefit  the  spread  of  Christianity  among  the  common 
people  in  the  Scandinavian  countries  may  have  de- 
rived from  such  a  course,  it  is  certain  that  in  this 
manner  the  early  sagas  were  made  to  be  interpreted 
in  a  spirit  that  was  utterly  foreign  to  their  primitive 
meaning.  Nevertheless  the  Sorla  thattr  is  of  some 
importance,  as,  despite  the  tendency  referred  to  above, 
a  few  features  of  the  original  version  have  remained 
and  the  work  is  not  devoid  of  poetic  beauty.  The 
contents  of  the  saga  are  about  as  follows. 

Freyja,  Odin's  favorite,  had  entered  into  a  shame- 
ful bargain  with  four  dwarfs  to  obtain  from  them  the 
famous  necklace  men  brisinga.  The  transaction  be- 
came known  to  Odin,  who  commanded  Loki  to  get 
possession  of  the  ornament.  Through  Loki's  strata- 
gem Freyja  was  deprived  of  the  necklace,  and  Odin  was 
determined  to  restore  it  to  her  only  if  she  should 
excite  two  kings  to  such  an  enmity  that  they  would 
fight  with  each  other  in  battle  forever.  The  end  of 
the  contest  could  not  be  brought  about  until  a 
Christian  hero  should  witness  the  combat  and  slay 
them. 

King  Hb'gni  had  obtained  great  power  by  van- 
quishing Sorli  called  the  Strong  (after  whom  the 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  203 

whole  story  has  been  named).  Denmark  and  twenty 
kings  obeyed  the  sceptre  of  Hb'gni.  There  was  an- 
other king,  named  Hedin,  son  of  the  mighty  Hjarrandi, 
to  whom  also  twenty  kings  were  submitted.  Once 
Hedin  went  into  a  forest  and  there  met  a  beau- 
tiful woman  seated  on  a  chair.  Her  name  was  Gon- 
dul,  and  she  inquired  after  his  warlike  deeds.  He 
related  them,  and  asked  her  if  she  knew  a  king 
who  was  his  equal  in  power  and  valor.  Gondul 
replied  that  she  knew  one,  whose  name  was  Hogni, 
and  who  ruled  over  twenty  kings  and  lived  in  Den- 
mark. In  the  following  spring  Hedin  departed  with 
three  hundred  warriors  on  a  dragon-shaped  vessel, 
and  sailed  the  whole  summer  and  winter,  until  he 
arrived  in  Denmark.  There  he  was  well  received  by 
Hogni,  and  when  they  tried  their  strength  and  skill 
in  warlike  games,  it  was  seen  that  neither  could  over- 
come the  other.  Thereupon  they  pledged  themselves 
by  oath  to  be  like  brothers  to  each  other.  Hogni 
had  a  daughter,  named  Hilde,  whom  he  loved  very 
much,  for  he  had  no  other  children.  After  some 
time  Hogni  left  his  country  to  wage  war  in  a  distant 
land,  and  Hedin  remained  to  guard  his  kingdom. 
As  Hedin  went  into  the  forest,  he  met  again  that 
strange  woman.  She  gave  him  to  drink  out  of  a 
drinking-horn,  and  when  he  had  drunk,  he  could  no 
longer  recall  the  past.  Then  she  asked  him  about 
Hogni's  valor  as  compared  with  his  own,  and  as 
Hedin  said  they  were  of  equal  strength  and  alike  in 
everything,*  the  woman  reminded  him  that  he  was 
*  A  contradiction  to  the  preceding  sentence. 


204  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

still  unwedded,  while  Hogni  had  a  noble  queen. 
Hedin  replied^  that  Hogni  would  give  him  his  daugh- 
ter Hilde  if  he  should  ask  him.  Gondul  answered 
that  he  would  lower  himself  in  obtaining  her  by 
request,  and  she  persuaded  him  to  carry  away  Hilde 
by  force,  and  throw  her  mother,  the  queen,  under  the 
ship  when  it  was  launched  into  the  sea.  Hedin,  be- 
witched by  the  draught  of  forgetfulness,  promised  to 
do  so,  and  no  longer  remembered  his  oath  of  brother- 
hood to  Hogni.  He  seized  the  queen  and  Hilde, 
while  his  warriors  took  the  royal  treasure.  On  the 
shore  Hilde  asked  him  what  he  purposed  to  do. 
When  he  had  told  her,  she  begged  him  to  abstain 
from  his  endeavors  ;  "  for,"  she  said,  "  if  thou  wilt  ask 
my  father  he  will  give  me  to  thee."  Hedin  refused 
to  comply  with  her  demand,  and  Hilde  told  him  that 
he  might  yet  be  reconciled  to  her  father,  even  if  he 
should  carry  her  away  by  force,  but  never  if  he 
should  kill  her  mother.  She  had  dreamed  that 
Hogni  and  Hedin  were  righting  with  each  other, 
and  still  greater  calamities  would  occur.  She  said, 
"  Now  shall  I  live  to  bear  the  grief  of  seeing  my  father 
surrounded  by  perjury  and  witchcraft,  and  yet  I  shall 
not  rejoice  in  beholding  thee  in  misfortune."  But 
Hedin  committed  the  crime ;  and  when  everything 
was  ready  for  departure,  he  went  alone  into  the  wood 
where  he  encountered  Gondul.  He  drinks  again  out 
of  the  drinking-horn,  and  while  he  is  asleep,  she 
vows  him  and  Hogni  and  their  warriors  to  the  fate 
that  Odin  had  decided  upon.  Hedin  awoke  and 
Gondul  disappeared.  Now  he  suddenly  remembered 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  205 

all  and  became  a  prey  to  despair.  He  hastened  to 
the  ship  and  sailed  away  with  Hilde. 

When  Hogni  came  home  and  learned  what  had 
passed,  he  set  out  to  pursue  Hedin.  In  the  evening 
he  always"  arrived  at  the  place  which  Hedin  had  left 
in  the  morning.  At  last  he  perceived  Hediu's  sail, 
and  came  up  to  him  at  the  island  Ha.  Hedin 
saluted  Hogni,  and  declared  that  he  had  been  deluded 
by  evil  witchcraft.  He  also  was  ready  to  give  up 
Hilde,  his  warriors,  and  all  his  possessions.  But 
Hogni  would  not  listen  to  any  attempt  at  reconcilia- 
tion, since  Hedin  had  murdered  the  queen.  Then 
Hedin  proposed  that  a  single  combat  between  him 
and  Hogni  should  decide  their  quarrel,  but  the  vassals 
of  the  kings  swore  that  they  would  rather  die  than  see 
their  lords  fight  alone.  They  all  went  to  the  shore  and 
began  the  combat,  Hogni  distinguishing  himself  by 
his  great  fierceness  and  Hediu  by  consummate  skill. 
Yet,  however  grievously  they  wounded  each  other, 
they  arose  again  and  fought  as  before.  Hilde  sat  in 
a  grove  and  looked  at  the  game.  This  contest  is 
said  to  have  lasted  one  hundred  and  forty-three  years, 
until  Olaf  Tryggvason  became  king  of  Norway.  ' 

In  the  first  year  of  his  reign  Olaf  landed  on  the 
island  Ha.  It  happened  there  that  the  guards 
disappeared  every  night,  and  no  one  knew  what 
became  of  them.  One  night  Ivar  Ljomi  mounted 
guard.  When  all  were  asleep  on  the  ship,  he  put  on 
his  armor,  drew  his  sword,  and  went  to  the  island. 
There  a  tall,  blood-dripping  man  with  sad  counte- 
nance came  towards  him.  He  called  himself  Hedin, 


206  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

son  of  Hjarrandi,  and  said  that  he  and  Hogni  were 
the  cause  of  the  disappearance  of  the  guards.  For 
many  generations  they  had  been  compelled  to  fight 
day  and  night.  This  was  the  destiny  imposed  upon 
them  by  Odin  :  but  if  a  Christian  hero  should  fight 
with  them,  none  of  those  who  were  slain  by  him 
would  arise  again.  At  Hedin's  request  Ivar  went 
with  him  to  redeem  them  from  their  fate.  Heclin 
advised  him  not  to  attack  Hogni  in  front,  for  he  had 
the  helmet  of  terror,  nor  to  fight  with  him  (Hedin) 
until  he  had  slain  Hogni,  since  no  man  could  kill 
Hogni  if  he  (Hedin)  was  dead  before  him.  They 
went  to  the  battle-field,  and  Hogni  was  assailed  by 
Hedin  in  front,  while  Ivar  struck  him  over  •his  head 
from  behind.  Hogni  fell  to  the  ground  and  died. 
Then  Ivar  easily  killed  the  others  and  at  last  Hedin. 
On  the  following  morning  he  related  everything  to 
the  king.  They  went  to  the  battle-field,  but  there 
every  trace  of  the  combat  had  vanished.  Yet  the 
blood  on  Ivar's  sword  showed  that  he  had  spoken 
the  truth,  and  no  guard  has  since  disappeared.  Olaf 
afterwards  returned  to  his  kingdom.* 

As  has  been  said  above,  the  tendency  to  contrast 
Teutonic  paganism  with  Christianity  has  greatly  influ- 
enced the  saga.  The  belief  that  such  terrible  woes 
were  inflicted  on  so  many  brave  and  guiltless  heroes 
on  account  of  a  disgraceful  occurrence  among  the 
gods  could  create  only  horror  at,  and  disgust  with, 

*  The  saga  is  given  iu  full  in  "Three  Northern  Love-Stories,  and 
other  Tales,  translated  from  the  Icelandic  by  Eirikr  Magmisson  and 
William  Morris." 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  207 

the  former  religion.  Among  the  ancient  character- 
istics of  the  story,  we  may  mention  the  fierceness  of 
Hogni,  the  oath  of  brotherhood  between  him  and 
Hedin,  the  scene  of  battle  on  the  Orkney  island  Ha 
(Haey),  and  the  report  that  Hilde  sat  in  a  grove  and 
looked  at  the  game ;  which  reminds  us  of  the  "  game 
of  Hilde,"  the  poetical  term  for  battle  used  by  the 
scalds.  Of  course,  with  the  visible  tendency  of  the 
saga,  the  former  conclusion  that  the  contest  lasted  till 
Eagnarok  was  no  longer  possible.  Uhland,  quoted 
by  Dr.  Klee,  says  :  "  The  Odinic  battle-storm  cedes 
to  the  message  of  Christianity,  to  the  teaching  of 
peace  and  reconciliation.  But  when  Ivar  brings 
about  the  repose  of  the  spectral  combatants  only  by 
his  sword,  this  feature  is  fully  in  accordance  with 
the  manner  of  his  king  and  master,  who  also  by 
violent  means  opened  the  path  for  the  religion  of 
peace." 

Even  at  the  present  day  the  Hilde  saga  has  not 
become  entirely  extinct.  There  is  a  popular  lay 
which  is  still  sung  with  many  variations  in  Den- 
mark, Sweden,  and  Norway,  and  the  contents  of 
which  in  the  Swedish  version  are  as  follows.  Hilla 
sits  in  her  chamber  and  weeps.  When  this  is  re- 
ported to  the  queen,  the  latter  asks  her  for  the  cause 
of  her  sorrow.  Hilla  relates  that  she  is  a  king's 
daughter,  and  had  been  happy  until  she  eloped  with 
Duke  Hillebrand.  On  their  flight  Hillebrand,  over- 
come with  fatigue,  intended  to  sleep  a  while,  but 
soon  her  father  with  her  brothers  arrived.  Hille- 
brand besought  Hilla  not  to  call  out  his  name  during 


208  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

the  combat.  Then  he  slew  her  father,  and  all  her 
brothers,  save  the  youngest.  When  he  was  about  to 
kill  the  latter  too,  Hilla,  forgetting  her  promise,  in- 
voked his  mercy  and  called  him  by  his  name.  As 
soon  as  she  had  uttered  the  name  Hillebrand,  her 
lover  fell  to  the  ground  and  died.  Hilla  went  home 
to  her  mother  with  her  youngest  brother.  To  punish 
her,  she  was  sold  for  a  church  bell ;  but  at  the 
first  sound  of  the  bell,  her  mother's  heart  broke. 
Thus  related  Hilla,  and  when  she  had  ended  her  story, 
she  fell  down  dead  before  the  queen. 

We  may  now  turn  to  a  brief  consideration  of  the 
saga  in  Germany.  As  we  have  seen  before,  the  Wlil- 
pensand  or  Wiilpenwert,  the  scene  of  the  great  battle 
in  the  German  traditions,  was  at  the  western  mouth 
of  the  Scheldt.  The  latter,  according  to  Jacob 
Grimm,*  was  formerly  called  Hedensee,  Heidensee, 
which  is  probably  the  same  as  Hedinsey,  Hithins-oe, 
and  this  name  may  possibly  have  led  to  the  connec- 
tion of  the  saga  with  the  place.  From  the  mouths  of 
the  Scheldt,  and  the  regions  of  the  Lower  Rhine, 
the  saga  extended  eastward  along  the  shores  of  the 
North  Sea,  as  far  as  Holstein.  Between  the  Nether- 
lands and  the  cities  along  the  Rhine  there  was  a 
lively  interchange  of  ideas  and  culture  fostered  by 
a  flourishing  commerce  and  by  wandering  minstrels. 
Through  the  latter  the  saga  was  brought  farther  into  the 
interior  of  Germany,  until  at  last  in  its  course  from  the 
northwest  it  reached  the  southeast.  There,  in  Austria 
arid  perhaps  in  Styria,  is  the  home  of  the  poem 
*  Haupt's  Zeitschrift,  ii.  4. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  209 

Gudrun.  Eeference  has  been  made  to  Lamprecht's 
"  Alexander,"  alluding  to  the  battle  on  the  Wiilpen- 
wert.  The  passage  has  been  interpreted  in  different 
ways,  but  its  meaning  is,  undoubtedly,  that  Hagen 
fought  against  Wat  for  Hilde,  while  Herwig  and 
Wolfwin  (Ortwin)  took  part  in  the  contest.  In  our 
epic  there  appears,  besides  Hilde,  another  heroine,  Gu- 
drun, whose  story  is  given  in  a  manner  somewhat  sim- 
ilar, yet  much  more  elaborate  than  that  of  the  former. 
It  is  possible  that  after  the  saga  was  known  in  North- 
western Germany  it  was  preserved  in  some  parts  in 
a  comparatively  pure  form,  while  in  others  it  was 
embellished  and  amplified.  Both  versions  were  after- 
wards connected  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  Hilde  of 
the  early  and  simple  saga  the  mother  of  the  heroine 
in  the  more  complicated  form.  The  germs  for  the 
formation  of  two  separate  stories  are  already  found 
in  the  saga,  as  it  appeared,  according  to  Lamprecht's 
report,  in  the  regions  of  the  Lower  Ehine.  Hagen 
and  Hilde  were  assigned  to  the  first  story,  while 
Herwig  and  Wolfwin  (Ortwin)  and  the  scene  of 
battle  were  incorporated  in  the  second  story,  and  Wat 
remained  in  both.  The  separation  of  the  heroine  into 
two  forms  had  not  then  been  brought  about  in  the 
version  of  the  Lower  Rhine,  and  the  latter  may  be 
considered  as  forming  the  point  of  transition  from 
the  Northern  sagas  to  the  later  German  traditions,  as 
they  appear  in  the  poem  Gudrun.  The  name  Gu- 
drun probably  belonged  to  Hilde  from  the  beginning. 
This  opinion  is  strengthened  by  the  contents  of  a 
stanza  in  the  Hogni  song  of  Faroe,  which  Dr.  Klee 


210  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

has  pointed  out.  Hogni  of  the  Sigurd  or  Nibelung 
saga  distinguishes  himself  by  his  great  bravery ;  he 
slays  a  hundred  and  fifty  men  at  every  blow,  and 
then  the  poet  says,- 

TaS  var  Gu'Srun  Jukadottir,     heldur  at  ti  gaman, 

Meira  i"S  Hogni  hoggur  sundir,     meira  reuna  teir  saman. 

Ta$  var  Hogni  Jiikason,     hann  gav  ti  fullvael  gaetur, 

Teir  iiS  hann  um  dagiu  drepur,     teir  livgar  hon  upp  urn  naetur.* 

The  passage  shows  that  its  author  confused  the 
story  of  the  Nibelung  Hogni  with  that  of  Hogni  of 
the  Hilde  saga.  He  remembered,  it  seems,  the  inci- 
dent of  the  reawakening  of  the  slain  heroes  at  night 
from  a  song  that  belonged  to  the  Hilde  tradition 
where  Gudrun  and  Hogni  were  mentioned  together. 
The  latter,  however,  were  not  the  well-known  Nibe- 
lung personages,  but  Hilde  and  her  father  Hogni.  It 
appears  that  the  confusion  of  the  two  sagas  would 
not  have  taken  place  in  this  manner  if  Hilde  had 
not  also  been  named  Gudrun  in  the  Northern  sagas. 
Moreover  double  names  are  not  uncommon  in  Teu- 
tonic traditions,  as  we  have,  for  instance,  Brynhild- 
Sigdrifa;  and  in  the  Nibelung  story  the  German 
Kriemhild  is  called  Gudruu  in  the  Northern  accounts, 
while  in  the  latter  the  former  name  is  given  to  her 
mother.  In  conclusion,  we  may  simply  refer  here  to 
an  episode  in  the  Thidrek  Saga  which  proves  the 
existence  of  the  Hilde  story,  of  course  with  some 
changes,  in  Old  Saxony,  along  the  shores  of  the  North 
Sea.  With  the  Thidrek  Saga  agrees  in  part,  espe- 
cially in  the  name  of  Hilde's  lover  Herburt,  a  pas- 

*  See  Note  6,  p.  309. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  211 

sage  in  the  German  poem  "Biterolf"  (6459-6511), 
•which  was  composed  in  Styria  during  the  first  half 
of  the  thirteenth  century.  In  the  latter  work  we 
meet  also  with  Ludwig  and  Hartmut,  his  son,  of 
Ormanie  (Normandy).  Again  there  is  little  doubt 
that  the  story  of  Hildegund  in  the  Latin  poem  of 
"  Walther  of  Aquitania  "  is  based  on  a  version  of  the 
Hilde  saga,  since  the  principal  features  of  both  are  the 
same. 

The  German  epic  Gudrun  was  composed  during  the 
last  decade  of  the  twelfth  century,  while  it  is  highly 
probable  that  the  saga  was  known  in  "Upper  Germany 
as  early  as  the  second  half  of  the  eleventh  century.* 
The  poem  cannot  have  been  written  much  later 
than  the  period  mentioned  above,  since  Wolfram  von 
Eschenbach  in  his  "Titurel,"  which  belongs  to  the 
beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century,  has  imitated  the 
versification  of  Gudrun.  The  latter  is  itself  an  imita- 
tion of  the  Nibelung  metre.  The  first  two  lines  of 
the  Gudrun  stanza  agree  entirely  in  form  with  the 
corresponding  lines  of  the  Nibelung  stanza,  yet  the 
third  and  fourth  lines  of  the  former  are  connected 
by  female  rhymes,  i.  e.  the  last  two  syllables  of  these 
verses  agree  in  sound,  while  the  last  syllable  is  un- 
accented ;  moreover,  the  second  hemistich  of  the 
fourth  line  has  five  accents  and  not  four,  as  in  the 
Nibelung  stanza.  There  is  a  strong  tendency  not  to 
suppress  the  unaccented  syllables,  which  is  in  accord- 
ance with  the  somewhat  lyrical  character  of  the  Gu- 
drun stanza  and  in  fact  with  that  of  the  whole  poem. 

»  Mullenhoff  in  Haupt's  Zeitschrift,  XII.  313. 


212  THE   GREAT   EPICS  OF 

On  the  other  hand  there  are  many  hemistichs  in  the 
first  half  of  the  stanza  which  have  no  ringing  caesura 
and  must  be  read  with  four  accents.*  Again  it  must 
be  said  that  several  stanzas  in  Gudrun  agree  com- 
pletely with  the  Nibelung  metre  and  have  male 
rhymes.  We  may  now  give  the  first  stanza  of  the 
poem,  with  the  accents  marked. 

Ez  wuohs  in  I'rlande     ein  ri'cher  kii'nic  he'r. 

Geheizen  was  er  Sigebant,     sin  vater  der  hiez  Ge'r. 

Sin  muoter  dm  hiez  Uote,     und  was  ein  ku'nigmne. 

Durch  ir  ho'be  tugende    so'  gezara  dem  ri'chen  wdl  ir  mmne. 

The  translations  from  Gudrun  which  are  given  in 
this  volume  are  in  accordance  with  the  metre  of  the 
original,  but  the  last  verse  of  the  stanza  has  not  been 
lengthened.! 

The  text  of  the  manuscript  J  of  our  poem  was 
first  published  with  some  emendations  in  Von  der 
Hagen's  "Heldenbuch  in  der  Ursprache"  (Hero- 
Book  in  the  Original  Language). §  Since  that  time 
much  has  been  done  towards  the  production  of  the 
correct  text,  as  the  manuscript,  like  most  late  manu- 
scripts of  that  era,  often  disfigures  the  Middle  High 
German  language  and  is  otherwise  full  of  mistakes. 
There  have  also  been  some  attempts  to  treat  the  poem 
like  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  and  to  separate  the  so- 
called  genuine  parts,  which  are  based  on  old  sagas, 
from  the  additions  of  later  times.  Ludwig  Ettintiller, 
in  his  edition  of  Gudrun  in  1841,  endeavored  to  show 

*  As,  for  instance,  the  first  hemistich  of  the  second  verse  in  the 
first  stanza  of  the  poem. 

t  See  Note  7,  p.  309.  £  p.  159.  §  Berlin,  1825. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  213 

the  interpolations  made  by  four  different  persons,  and 
to  distinguish  them  from  each  other.  He  divided 
the  whole  work  into  three  epics, — "  Hagene,"  "  Hagene 
und  Hetel,"  and  "  Gudrun," —  and  of  the  1705  stanzas 
of  the  original  text  he  rejected  951  as  not  genuine. 
Karl  Mullenhoff  was  not  satisfied  with  this  work, 
as  the  reasons  for  what  was  considered  genuine 
and  what  was  rejected  were  either  not  given  at  all 
or  were  presented  in  the  preface  in  a  general  way 
without  any  conclusive  proof.  Wilhelm  Grimm  had 
given  a  course  of  lectures  on  Gudrun  in  Berlin  in 
1841,  and  Mullenhoff,  although  he  had  before  paid 
attention  to  the  poem,  was  induced  particularly  by 
Grimm's  remarks  to  devote  his  labors  to  investiga- 
tions on  Gudrun.  In  1845  he  published  "Kudrun, 
die  echten  Theile  des  Gedichtes,  mit  einer  kritischen 
Einleitung"  (The  Genuine  Parts  of  the  Poem  of 
Kudrun,  with  a  Critical  Introduction),  a  work  which 
shows  his  great  erudition  and  independence  of  judg- 
ment. Mullenhoff  retained  of  the  1705  stanzas  only 
414  as  genuine  ;  he  omitted  the  first  section  of  the 
poem,  treating  of  Hagen's  youth,  and  divided  the 
story  of  Hagen  and  Hetel  into  seven  parts,  and 
that  of  Gudrun  into  eighteen.  In  regard  to  the 
interpolators  Mullenhoff  says,  on  page  42  :  "  No  one 
ought  to  have  ventured  to  determine  precisely  the 
number  of  persons  who  worked  on  the  poem,  and  to 
attribute  stanza  after  stanza  to  this  one  or  that  one ; 
in  particular  cases  it  is  even  difficult  to  say  what  is 
earlier  or  later."  Generally  speaking,  those  who 
adhered  to  Lachmann's  theory  of  the  Nibelungen 


214  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

Lied  accepted  also  MiillenhofFs  view  of  Gudrun, 
while  those  who  differed  from  them  agreed  upon 
the  whole  with  the  opinion  of  Karl  Bartsch,  who 
deserves  great  praise  for  his  zeal  in  the  investigations 
of  our  poem.  Bartsch  rejects  the  idea  that  one  or 
several  interpolators  composed  parts  of  the  epic,  but 
he  admits  that  the  whole  work  was  revised  or  re- 
modelled by  a  poet,  as  far  as  its  form  is  concerned, 
about  the  year  1215.*  The  manuscript  which  we 
possess  is  copied  from  that  revised  edition.  How- 
ever valuable  have  been  the  researches  of  the  schol- 
ars named  above  and  those  of  others  not  mentioned 
here,  it  is  impossible  to  state  with  absolute  certainty 
in  what  particular  manner  the  composition  of  our 
poem  was  carried  out. 

Great  changes  in  the  saga  were  necessarily  intro- 
duced by  the  transformation  of  Hilde  and  the  heroes 
of  old,  who  primitively  were  mythical  personages, 
into  Christian  characters  of  the  Middle  Ages,  as  we 
have  seen  in  some  of  the  sagas  and  stories  that 
have  been  sketched  on  the  preceding  pages.  There 
is  little  doubt  that  even  the  popular  lays,  based  on 
the  ancient  material,  were  in  time  affected  by  the 
same  influences.  It  is  certain  that  the  mediaeval 
poets,  in  accordance  with  the  customary  ideas  of  their 
time,  depicted  the  events  of  other  epochs,  whether  of 
classical  antiquity  or  biblical  history,  in  the  garb  of 
their  own  era.  It  is  not  surprising  that  they  did  the 
same  in  regard  to  old  German  traditions.  Thus,  in 
agreement  with  the  taste  and  demands  of  that  part 

»  Germania,  X.  160. 


MEDIEVAL    GERMANY.  215 

of  mediaeval  society  on  whose  generosity  the  wander- 
ing minstrels  had  to  depend,  the  ancient  heroes  and 
heroines  became  in  our  poem,  respectively,  Christian 
kings  or  knights  and  king's  daughters.  The  whole 
epic  was  permeated  by  the  spirit  of  mediaeval  chiv- 
alry, although  there  are  still  some  traces  which  betoken 
the  original  source  from  which  the  tale  was  derived. 
It  underwent  in  this  respect  a  transformation  sim- 
ilar to  that  of  the  Nibelung  traditions,  when  they 
appeared  in  the  shape  of  the  great  epic  which  has 
been  the  subject  of  the  first  five  chapters. 

The  occurrences  in  the  first  section  of  the  poem 
are  not  based  on  ancient  German  sagas.  The  story 
of  the  Griffin  is  of  foreign  origin,  but  the  author 
of  Gudrun  may  have  become  acquainted  with  it 
through  the  saga  of  "  Herzog  Ernst "  (Duke  Ernest),  of 
which  a  German  version  existed  about  the  year  1180, 
and  which  became  very  popular.  On  the  other  hand, 
this  section  is  partly  given  by  the  composer  of  the 
epic  in  imitation  of  the  manner  of  the  court  poets, 
who,  as  we  see  in  "  Parzival "  and  "  Tristan,"  relate 
the  life  of  the  hero's  or  heroine's  progenitors  before 
they  begin  the  principal  story.  The  fact  that  Hagen's 
wife  is  called  a  princess  from  India,  and  Siegfried  a 
king  of  the  Moors  (Morlant),*  together  with  other 
assertions  of  this  kind,  is  due  to  the  love  of  strange 
adventures  in  distant  countries  which  characterized 
this  period  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  which  was  fos- 
tered by  the  influence  of  the  crusades  on  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  people.  In  regard  to  the  situation  of  the 

*  p.  170. 


216  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

different  countries  and  places  in  our  epic  no  very 
certain  explanations  can  be  given.  We  have  above 
referred  to  Vulpa  or  Wulpen,  as  a  place  attested  by 
documentary  evidence.*  The  same  proof  is  furnished 
for  Cadsant  or  Cassant ;  the  latter  is  a  small  place  at 
the  southwest  from  Wulpen,  and  is  still  existing.  It 
has  been  supposed  that  this  might  be  the  Norman 
Kassiane,f  the  castle  of  Ludwig  and  Hartmut.  Against 
this  supposition  the  objection  has  been  raised  that 
it  would  then  seem  improbable  that  the  Hegelings 
could  not  have  pursued  the  Normans.  J  Yet  the 
conceptions  of  the  geographical  position  of  Kassiane 
or  Cassant  may  easily  have  been  lost  in  the  saga  dur- 
ing its  long  course  from  the  northwest  to  the  south- 
east of  Germany,  and  only  to  the  latter,  the  home  of 
the  author  of  Gudrun,  belongs  the  statement  that  the 
Normans  could  not  be  overtaken.  In  earlier  tradi- 
tions the  Normans  were  not  the  inhabitants  of 
French  Normandy,  but  Northmen  from  Norway  and 
Denmark,  who  about  the  end  of  the  eighth  century 
began  to  harass  the  coasts  on  the  North  Sea.  During 
a  part  of  the  ninth  century  Danes  had  settled  at  the 
mouths  of  the  Lower  Rhine  and  in  Friesland.  There- 
fore in  the  saga  Rhenish  and  Friesian  regions  could 
afterwards  be  taken  for  Northern  countries,  and  the 
latter  for  the  former,  so  that  there  is  in  Gudrun  a 
Rhenish  Denmark  (Teneland),  and  German  heroes 
have  become  Danes. §  Yet,  as  has  been  said  above, 
besides  the  general  fact  that  the  German  traditions 

*  p.  197.  t  p.  187.  $  p.  175. 

§  Miillenhoff,  Zeitschrift  fur  deutsches  Alterthum,  VI.  64. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  217 

indicate  the  country  near  the  mouths  of  the  Scheldt 
and  the  Rhine  and  along  the  coast  of  the  North 
Sea  as  the  place  of  the  events,  no  definite  or  very 
trustworthy  geographical  statements  can  be  given. 
Dr.  Klee  is  perfectly  right  when  he  says  that  the 
poet  had  before  him  no  special  map  of  Flanders  and 
Friesland.  Gudrun  is  an  epic,  the  outgrowth  of  old 
sagas,  and  not  a  history.  Whatever  historical  events, 
if  any,  may  have  become  mingled  with  tradition, 
cannot  be  determined. 

Our  poem,  when  compared  with  the  Nibelungen 
Lied,  leaves  upon  the  whole  a  more  cheerful  impres- 
sion on  the  mind  and  soul  of  the  reader.  There  is 
"joy  after  sorrow,"  and  not  "sorrow  after  joy,"  in  the 
end.  It  is  true  that  in  Gudrun  we  meet  with  a  great 
deal  of  bloodshed  and  with  the  chief  heroine's  deso- 
late destiny,  yet  the  conclusion  of  the  poem  makes  us 
forget  the  scenes  of  slaughter  and  cruelty  of  former 
days  and  rejoice  in  the  happy  aspect  of  the  blooming 
present  and  future.  To  read  our  epic  will  convey  a 
much  better  idea  of  its  beauties  than  any  comments 
can  do ;  yet  there  is  no  metrical  translation  of  it  in 
English.  However,  there  exists  an  anonymous  prose 
version,  published  in  Edinburgh  in  1860,  which  is 
somewhat  free  in  its  rendering  of  the  story,  but  is 
charmingly  written.  It  is  hoped  that  the  brief  sketch 
given  in  the  preceding  chapter,  together  with  the 
translations,  will  call  the  attention  of  lovers  of  poetry 
to  this  great  epic.  Gudrun  is  undeservedly  not 
enough  known,  while  it  is  inferior  only  to  the  Nibe- 
lungen  Lied.  Yet  there  are  some  scenes  and  pas- 


218  THE   GREAT   EPICS. 

sages  in  Gudrun  which  are  not  surpassed  by  those 
in  any  other  poem.  It  has  been  dramatized  by 
Victor  von  Strauss,  and  rendered  into  modern  German 
by  San  Marte  (Schulz)  in  a  readable  manner,  but 
not  strictly  conforming  to  the  original  It  has  been 
translated  by  Simrock,  Keller,  and  Baumeister  in  the 
correct  metre. 


CHAPTEE  VHI. 
PARZIVAL. 

I.  -SKETCH  OF  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  ARTHUR 
SAGA,  AND  ITS  CONNECTION  WITH  THE  LEGEND 
OF  THE  HOLY  GRAIL.  —  II.  OUTLINE  OF  THE 
POEM. 

I.  AMONG  the  poems  of  Mediaeval  Germany  which. 
are  not  the  outgrowth  of  the  early  national  tradi- 
tions,* but  distinctly  the  work  of  individual  poets, 
the  great  epic  Parzival  (Percival)  by  "Wolfram  von  { 
Eschenbaeh  is  justly  deemed  the  most  renowned. 
The  title  of  the  poem  calls  to  our  mind  at  once 
the  fair  and  famous  pictures  of  Guinevere,  Elaine, 
Arthur  and  the  Round  Table,  Lancelot  and  the  Holy 
Grail,  immortalized  in  Tennyson's  "Idylls  of  the  | 
King."  Yet  in  order  to  understand  and  appreciate 
Wolfram's  epic,  it  will  be  necessary  first  to  cast  a 
glance  at  the  story  of  Arthur  and  the  Eound  Table, 
and  to  consider  it  by  itself,  since  the  legend  of  the 
Holy  Grail  had  originally  no  connection  with  the 
former,  and  was  interwoven  with  it  only  in  later 
times.  When  we  inquire  into  the  origin  of  the  story 

*  pp.  ni,  xii. 


' 


220  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

of  Arthur,  we  must  turn  towards  the  early  records  of 
the  Keltic  nation,  —  a  nation  whose  glory  belongs 
chiefly  to  the  past,  — a  nation  which  was  at  the  sum- 
mit of  its  power  and  its  fame  when  Brennus,  the  Gallic 
chief,  entered  the  gates  of  the  Eternal  City  and  was 
brought  face  to  face  with  the  stoic  patriotism  of  the 
Roman  senators.  Yet  the  haughty  and  cruel  words 
of  the  Keltic  chieftain,  Vce  metis,  were  destined  by 
the  terrible  law  of  retribution  to  become  a  fatal  spell 
to  his  whole  people.  For  despite  the  personal  bra- 
very of  the  Keltic  tribes,  the  invariable  result  of  their 
wars  with  other  nations  was  defeat  in  the  end, 
whether  they  succumbed  before  the  superior  strategy 
of  the  Eoman  legions  or  yielded  to  the  prowess  of 
the  Teutonic  invaders.  But  while  the  Keltic  nation- 
ality, as  compared  with  its  ancient  glory,  has  nearly 
sunk  into  political  insignificance,  it  has  accomplished 
a  triumph  not  equalled  by  any  iiation  on  the  earth, 
and  won  in  a  warfare  nobler  than  that  of  arms.  The 
legends  of  its  hero  Arthur  not  only  became  famous 
in  every  castle  of  Europe,  but  exercised  so  potent  a 
sway  over  the  higher  classes  of  society  that  it  was 
the  height  of  ambition  for  mediaeval  chivalry  to  carry 
out  the  idealized  conception  of  the  knighthood  of  the 
Round  Table. 

The  first  question  which  presents  itself  in  regard 
to  this  subject  seems  to  be,  "Is  Arthur  a  historic 
personage  or  is  he  not  ? "  and  this  necessarily  leads  us 
to  inquire  into  the  documents  of  the  early  Keltic 
population  of  England.  It  is  a  work  of  some  diffi- 
culty, since  the  ancient  records  of  the  Keltic  race 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  221 

exhibit  a  strange  mingling  of  historic  facts  with 
legendary  lore.  It  is  true  that  the  same  assertion 
may  be  made  concerning  the  Scandinavian  Eddas 
and  the  German  Nibelungen  Lied,  if  we  should 
attempt  to  construe  from  them,  and  from  them  alone, 
a  history  of  the  Northern  or  of  the  German  people. 
Yet  the  Keltic  traditions,  on  account  of  their  antiquity 
and  of  our  imperfect  acquaintance  with  the  language, 
present  still  greater  difficulties,  and  much  doubt  ex- 
ists in  relation  to  the  authenticity  and  genuineness  of 
these  early  works.  However  there  is  sufficient  reason 
to  assume  that  the  ancient  myths  and  sagas  of  the 
Kelts  in  the  course  of  time  passed  through  trans- 
formations similar  to  those  of  the  Teutonic  tribes. 
But  while  German  and  more  particularly  Scandinavian 
mythology  and  saga-lore  attained  the  last  stage  of 
their  development,  when  they  appeared  in  the  form 
of  popular  tales  and  fairy  stories,  at  a  comparatively 
late  epoch,  the  Keltic  traditions  reached  that  state  at 
a  much  earlier  date,  since  they  were  sooner  brought 
into  contact  with  Christianity  and  more  powerfully 
influenced  by  Eoman  civilization.  There  is  also  no 
doubt  that  the  Christian  missionaries  among  the 
Keltic  population  of  England  and  Gaul  endeavored 
to  adapt  their  doctrines  somewhat  to  the  former  beliefs 
of  the  people,  in  the  same  manner  as  they  did  in 
Germany ;  and  thus  the  old  pagan  gods  were  con- 
verted into  saints  or  demons,  and  in  this  transforma- 
tion they  enriched  and  modified  the  ancient  sagas. 
When  we  unfold  the  records  of  the  early  bards, 
we  find  that  Arthur  was  the  leader  of  the  many 


222  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

petty  kings  of  Wales  in  their  combats  against  the 
invading  and  often  victorious  Anglo-Saxons  ;  that  he 
was  a  brave  warrior  and  wasjnurdered  by  his  nephew 
and  buried  at  Glastonbury,  probably  in  the  sixth 
century.  This  is  nearly  all  that  can  be  ascertained 
of  the  historic  Arthur,  and  it  must  be  admitted  that 
the  latter  has  very  little  in  common  with  the  Arthur 
of  the  later  legends  and  romances.  There  are  no 
documents  which  prove  that  Arthur's  fame  extended 
beyond  the  boundaries  of  Wales  before  the  ninth 
century;  and  even  for  a  long  time  afterwards  he 
remained  simply  the  worshipped  national  hero.  It 
is  only  to  wards  .the  end ,  of  the  eleventh  century  that 
he  begins  to  appear  in  the  garb  of  the  ideal  king  and 
knight,  until  finally  he  loses  all  national  charac- 
teristics and  becomes  the  sublime  emblem  of  mediae- 
val chivalry,  in  few  of  its  shadows,  in  all  its  lights. 
The  more  Keltic  nationality  was  thrust  into  the 
background  of  the  political  theatre  of  Europe,  the 
more  the  ancient  national  songs  were  held  sacred  and 
the  deeds  of  the  legendary  heroes  magnified,  as  if  the 
conception  of  the  idealized  past  could  indemnify  for 
the  hardships  of  the  realistic present. 

Thus  Arthur  is  depicted  as  residing  with  his  beau- 
tiful queen  Guinevere  (Ghwenhwywar)  at  Caerlleon 
(the  castle  of  Leon)  on  the  Usk  in  Wales.  They  are 
surrounded  by  a  glittering  throng  of  brave  knights 
and  noble  ladies.  To  belong  to  Arthur's  court  and  sit 
at  the  Eound  Table  was  considered  the  highest  honor 
that  could  be  bestowed  on  any  knight.  Among  the 
scenes  of  the  Arthur  legends  the  forest  of  Brezilian 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  223 

(in  Keltic,  Broch-allean,  the  forest  of  solitude)  is  most 
distinguished,  and  it  bears  this  name  even  to-day  in 
Brittany.  From  King  Arthur's  court  the  knights, 
either  single  or  in  company,  set  out  in  quest  of  adven- 
tures, —  for  the  protection  of  ladies  in  distress,  or  to 
giants  and  vanquish  oppressors  or  treacherous 


knights.  At  the  saine_time_the  cavaliers  of  Arthur 
are  models  of  refinement  and  of  courtly  manners, 
while  the  ladies  excel  in  grace  and  beauty.  The 
most  renowned  heroes  in  the  legends  of  Arthur  are 
Gawaio^.JPerciyaJ^  Lohengrin,  Tristan,  Iwein,  Erec, 
Wigalois,  Lancelot,  and  Wigamur. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  legends  of  King 
Arthur  and  of  his  cavaliers  became  famous  at  an 
early  epoch  in  Brittany  in  Gaul,  among  a  people  so 
closely  akin  to  the  Welsh  in  England  and  in  constant 
and  lively  intercourse  with  them.  Moreover  the  pop- 
ulation of  Brittany  underwent  trials  from  the  Franks, 
and  at  times  from  the  Normans,  similar  to  those  which 
the  Welsh  suffered  from  the  Anglo-Saxons;  and  to 
this  fact  is  due  in  a  great  measure  the  eagerness  with 
which  the  story  of  Arthur  was  welcomed  on  the 
neighboring  shores,  since  the  glory  of  the  kindred 
nation  could  not  but  reflect  much  of  its  splendor  on 
the  warlike  tribes  of  Brittany.  The  latter  were  not 
content  with  merely  receiving  the  legendary  lore  of 
their  kinsmen,  but  elaborated  the  ancient  traditions, 
embellished  them  with  creations  of  their  imagination, 
and  transferred  the  scene  of  action  in  many  cases  to 
their  own  country.  But  they  did  even  more  than 
that,  more  than  the  Welsh  were  able  to  do  ;  for  Brit- 


224  THE   GREAT   EPICS  OF 

tany  became  not  only,  so  to  speak,  the  second  home 
of  the  Arthur  sagas,  but  it  was  the  medium  through 
which  they  were  communicated,  although  in  a  form 
very  different  from  their  primitive  source,  to  North- 
ern and  Southern  France,  and  thence  to  Germany 
and  the  other  European  countries.  The  fact  that  the 
story  of  Arthur  was  transmitted  through  Brittany, 
and  not  through  Wales  to  the  rest  of  Europe,  can  be 
accounted  for  by  the  different  relations  in  which  the 
two  countries  stood  to  their  neighbors. 

The  Welsh  since  the  beginning  of  the  ninth 
century  had  been  losing  more  and  more  of  their 
independence  in  fruitless  struggles  against  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  and  the  contempt  of  the  latter  for  the  former 
was  so  deep  as  to  prevent  all  social  relations  among 
them.  The  enmity  between  the  two  nations  was  so 
intense  as  to  exclude  even  the  possibility  that  the 
conquerors  would  receive  or  revive  the  war  songs  of 
the  vanquished.  On  the  other  hand,  Brittany  had 
succeeded  in  retaining  its  independence  and  power, 
and  at  the  same  time  was  greatly  influenced  by  the 
civilization  of  France  and  especially  by  the  spirit  of 
French  chivalry.  It  is  evident  that  the  story  of 
Arthur,  already  much  transformed  before  it  left  the 
soil  of  Brittany,  must  have  undergone  still  greater 
changes  when  it  became  naturalized  in  other  coun- 
tries. Indeed  we  cannot  assume  that  the  different 
nations  of  Europe  would  forsake  their  own  popular 
traditions  and  epics  in  order  to  make  room  for  the 
saga-lore  of  another  people;  thus  neither  were  the 
French  disposed  to  abandon  their  songs  of  Roland, 


MEDIAEVAL   GERMANY.  225 

nor  the  Germans  their  lays  of  the  Nibelungs.  There- 
fore we  find  that  the  more  the  legends  of  Arthur 
became  popular  among  the  Eomanic  and  Germanic 
nations  of  Europe,  the  more  they  were  denational- 
ized, until  at  last,  in  the  twelfth  century,  Arthur, 
originally  the  hero  of  Wales,  the  champion  of  Welsh 
independence  against  Anglo-Saxon  oppression,  lost 
all  national  characteristics.  He  became,  as  has  been 
said  above,  merely  the  noblest  type  of  mediaeval 
chivalry,  the  manly  representative  of  what  was  con- 
sidered knightly  honor  and  virtue  during  the  Middle 
Ages.  The  legends  of  King  Arthur  in  this  new,  ideal- 
istic garb  were  not  long  in  finding  a  place  side  by 
side  with  the  great  national  epics,  and  were  eagerly 
welcomed  at  every  royal  court  and  at  every  castle  in 
Europe,  and  this  so  much  the  more  as  the  spirit  of 
the  nations  had  been  roused  to  its  highest  pitch,  and 
everything  seemed  to  be  prepared  for  the  favorable 
reception  of  a  story  like  that  of  the  knights  of  the 
Round  Table.  Indeed  the  age  was  filled  with  relig- 
ious and  martial  excitement.  The  chivalry  of  Spain, 
while  combating  against  the  noble  Moorish  warriors, 
had  won  its  laurels  under  the  great  Cid.  In  France, 
the  blast  of  Eoland's  bugle,  which  had  resounded  at 
Roncevaux,  seemed  to  re-echo  still  in  the  heart  of  the 
French  knights.  In  England,  the  fermentation 
caused  by  the  clashing  discord  between  Anglo- 
Saxon  and  Norman  customs  and  institutions  had 
produced  an  era  rich  in  heroic  sentiments  and  deeds. 
In  (iermany,  under  the  famous  epoch  of  the  Hohen- 
staufen  emperors,  during  which  the  flower  of  the 


226  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

German  nobility  became  acquainted  with  the  civili- 
zation of  mediaeval  Italy,  the  old  national  songs  had 
been  revived,  and  the  heroes  of  the  past  were  held  up 
as  models  for  the  present.  Yet  above  all,  it  was  the 
influence  of  the  crusades,  and  the  acquaintance  with 
the  gorgeous  grandeur  of  the  East,  that  predisposed 
the  European  nations  to  whatever  was  strange  and 
ad  venturous  j  and  nothing  could  be  found  more  in 
accordance  with  these  characteristics  than  the  ro- 
mances of  Arthur  and  his  knights. 

Before  concluding  this  brief  sketch  of  the  devel- 
opment of  the  Arthur  saga,  we  may  refer  here  to 
a  collection  of  Welsh  tales  known  under  the  title 
"  Mabinogion,"  Children's  or  Household  Stories.  The 
work  was  introduced  to  the  English-reading  pub- 
lic by  Lady  Charlotte  Guest,  a  native  of  Wales, 
who  in  the  year  1838  published  a  translation  of  it 
and  dedicated  it  very  appropriately  to  her  children.* 
It  is  probable  that  the  Mabinogion,  in  the  form  in 
which  they  have  been  transmitted  to  us,  were  written 
down  during  the  latter  part  of  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury, yet  the  material  from  which  they  were  com- 
posed is  of  an  earlier  date.  We  shall  hereafter  refer 
to  the  Mabinogi  of  Peredur,  which  is  supposed  by 
some  to  be  the  source  of  the  Percival  saga.f  The 
Mabinogion  represent  Arthur  as  the  ideal  knight,  yet 
they  relate  many  grotesque  and  even  absurd  adven- 
tures, together  with  some  points  which  must  be 
considered  as  the  relics  of  ancient  Keltic  mythology. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the  leaders  of  the 

*  See  Note  8,  p.  309.  t  p.  321. 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  227 

Welsh  tribes  who  distinguished  themselves  under 
Arthur's  banners  underwent  a  similar  transforma- 
tion in  the  course  of  time.  In  fact  he  becomes 
at  the  end  a  mere  spectator,  and  his  court  simply 
the  centre  of  adventure-seeking  knights.  The  lat- 
ter were  glorified  in  special  poems  and  romances, 
while  at  the  same  time  all  of  them,  king  and  knights, 
were  overshadowed  by  the  splendor  of  the  Holy 
Grail. 

The  word  "  Grail "  is  derived  from  the  old  French 
"  graal,  greal,"  meaning  a  vessel  or  cup.  According  to 
a  later  form  of  tne  legend,*  sixty  thousand  angels  had 
a  crown  made  for  Lucifer  when  the  latter  arose  in 
rebellion  against  God.  A  precious  stone  had  fallen 
from  this  crown  when  Lucifer  was  hurled  down  from 
heaven.  From  this  stone  came  the  holy  dish  which 
Christ  used  at  the  Eucharist  and  in  which  Joseph  of 
Arimathea  caught  the  blood  of  the  Saviour.  There- 
fore great  life-giving  and  healing  powers  were  attrib- 
uted to  the  Holy  Grail,  which  became  the  central 
figure  of  a  sort  of  Christian  mythology,  whose  germs 
point  to  the  faint  remembrance  of  a  former  earthly 
paradise  and  to  Oriental  origin.  According  to  a  de- 
scription found  in  the  "  Younger  Titurel,"  the  tem- 
ple of  the  Grail  was  round,  and  one  hundred  fathoms 
in  diameter.  It  was  situated  on  Mont  Salvage  in 
Northern  Spain,  and  the  summit  of  the  mountain  on 
which  it  stood  was  of  polished  onyx  which  shone  like 
the  moon.  Many  years  after  Joseph  of  Arimathea 
had  brought  the  holy  cup  into  the  Western  countries, 

*  "Wartburgkrieg. 


228  THE   GREAT   EPICS  OF 

no  one  could  be  found  who  merited  to  be  its  guar- 
dian. At  last  Titurel,  a  fabulous  king  of  Anjou,  was 
directed  by  divine  command  to  build  on  Mont  Sal- 
vage a  temple  for  the  Grail,  and  a  castle  for  the 
knights  to  whose  care  the  sacred  vessel  was  intrusted. 
The  temple  was  surrounded  by  seventy-two  chapels 
of  an  octagonal  shape.  There  were  thirty-six  towers, 
one  to  every  pair  of  chapels,  and  each  six  stories  high. 
The  roofs  of  the  towers  were  of  gold,  with  ornaments 
in  blue  enamel.  On  each  tower  stood  a  crystal  cross, 
and  on  the  latter  was  seen  a  golden  eagle,  spreading 
out  its  wings.  The  vaultings  of  the  temple  were  of 
blue  -sapphire,  and  so  were  all  the  altar-stones.  In 
the  centre  there  arose  a  tower  twice  as  high  and 
large  as  the  others,  and  on  its  summit  was  placed  a 
magnificent  carbuncle  of  enormous  size,  which  shone 
far  and  wide,  and  at  dark  guided  the  knights  of  the 
Grail  to  the  temple.  On  the  inside  of  the  cupola  the 
golden  sun  and  the  silvery  moon  were  represented  in 
diamonds  and  topazes.  As  has  been  said  by  Vilmar 
and  other  writers,  this  wonderful  imaginary  structure 
reminds  us  of  the  temple  of  the  new  Jerusalem  in 
the  Apocalypse,  while  still  more  it  is  to  be  considered 
as  a  grand  and  glowing  ideal  of  German  architecture 
generally. 

The  saga  of  the  Grail  was  introduced  into  Spain 
by  the  Arabs.  In  Wolfram's  poem  it  is  said  (IX. 
623)  that  Flegetauis,  a  pagan,  but  by  his  mother's 
side  of  Jewish  extraction,  of  the  race  of  Salomo,  had 
first  written  about  the  Grail  in  pagan  (Arabic)  lan- 
guage. Yet  the  later  exclusively  Christian  nature 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  229 

of  the  Grail  is  evident  from  Wolfram's  remark  that 
Flegetanis  possessed  no  right  understanding  of  the 
sacred  cup,  and  therefore  could  speak  only  timidly  of 
what  he  had  read  about  it  in  the  stars,  since  Chris- 
tian baptism  was  required  to  perceive  the  mysteries 
of  the  Holy  Grail.  The  book  of  Flegetanis,  treating 
of  the  Grail,  is  said  to  have  been  found  in  Toledo, 
Spain,  by  Guiot  (Kiot),  a  Provencal  poet,  who  is  pre- 
sumed to  have  composed  from  it  and  from  the  chroni- 
cle of  the  house  of  Anjou,  as  well  as  from  the  living 
traditions  of  his  time,  a  poem  which  became  the 
principal  but  not  the  entire  source  of  Wolfram's  epic. 
Although  we  should  expect  that  Guiot  would  write 
in  his  native  idiom,  in  the  langue  d  'oc,  according  to 
Wolfram  he  spoke  of  the  Grail  in  French.  Guiot's 
poem,  if  it  ever  existed,  is  lost,  and  we  can  therefore 
not  compare  Wolfram's  epic  with  his  supposed  main 
source.  Simrock  thinks  that  "Wolfram's  sharply 
marked  personality  appears  everywhere  in  the  most 
definite  manner,  every  line  breathes  his  spirit,  and 
the  great  number  of  highly  individual  effusions,  as 
well  as  the  allusions  to  German  conditions  and 
German  saga,  exclude  the  idea  of  real  translation." 
In  this  connection  we  must  refer  to  Chretien  de 
Troyes,  who  wrote  the  "  Conte  del  Graal "  about  the 
year  1170.  His  poem  is  not  complete,  as  it  ends 
before  Percival  had  arrived  for  the  second  time  at  the 
castle  of  the  Grail.  Wolfram  mentions  the  work  of 
Chretien,  but  accuses  him  of  not  having  transmitted 
the  saga  correctly. 

The  care  of  the  Holy  Grail  was  intrusted  to  a  king 


230  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

and  a  select  number  of  knights,  who  were  called 
templeise  (guardians  of  the  temple)  from  the  Mediaeval 
Latin  word  templensis.  The  castle  of  the  Grail  was 
situated,  according  to  most  traditions,  in  the  northern 
part  of  Spain.  It  stood,  as  has  been  said  above,  on 
Mont  Salvage  (the  mountain  of  Salvation),*  which 
was  surrounded  by  a  territory  belonging  to  it,  named 
Terre  de  Salvage,  in  which  was  the  Fontaine  de  Sal- 
vage. The  knights  of  the  Grail  had  to  excel  in  every 
virtue,  and  practise  chiefly  chastity  and  humility. 
Their  king  alone  was  allowed  to  marry,  while  they 
had  to  abstain  from  all  earthly  love.  There  is  little 
doubt  that  the  general  organization  of  the  knight- 
hood guarding  the  Holy  Grail  was  conceived  after 
that  of  the  Knights  Templars,  who  wielded  great 
influence  during  the  latter  part  of  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury in  Southern  France  and  Northeastern  Spain. 
The  first  house  of  the  Knights  Templars  was  estab- 
lished in  the  Pyrenees  as  early  as  1136  by  Eoger  III., 
Count  of  Foix.  There  were  also  a  few  points  of  a 
strange  ceremony,  common,  to  both  orders.  The 
wholly  spiritual  chivalry  of  the  Grail  could  not  be 
imagined  without  easily  leading  to  the  idea  of  its 
counterpart.  The  latter  was  found  in  the  legends  of 
King  Arthur  and  the  Bound  Table,  representing  the 
highest  ideal  of  worldly  knighthood.  The  combina- 
tion of  the  two  originally  distinct  saga-cycles  and  the 
unification  of  the  various  forms  which  the  Arthur 
stories  had  taken  in  different  countries,  were  particu- 

*  Salvage  is  also  connected  by  some  with  sauvage  ;  thus,  Mont 
Salvage  would  mean  "wild  mountain." 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  231 

larly  favored  by  the  reign  of  Henry  II.  of  England, 
of  the  house  of  Anjou  (1154-89),  who  united  un- 
der his  sceptre  the  crowns  of  England,  Normandy, 
Anjou,  and  a  great  part  of  Southern  France.  Wolf- 
ram represents  in  his  poem  the  fabulous  kings  of 
the  Grail  as  connected  with  the  house  of  Anjou; 
and  in  this  he  is  supposed  to  follow  Guiot,  who  is 
said  to  have  intended  to  glorify  the  Anjevin  dynasty. 
The  idea  of  placing  the  knighthood  of  the  Grail  and 
that  of  Arthur,  if  not  in  a  hostile,  yet  in  a  morally 
different  position  from  each  other,  is  found,  at  least  in 
its  germ,  in  the  French  poems,  as  can  be  seen  in  the 
work  of  Chretien. 

Besides  the  spiritual  knighthood  of  the  Holy  Grail 
and  the  worldly  chivalry  of  the  Bound  Table,  another 
prominent  element  appears  in  our  poem ;  it  is  the 
dark  principle  of  evil  and  destruction.  Thus  while 
the  knights  of  the  Grail  lead  a  holy  life  and  exert 
their  personal  valor  only  for  the  glory  of  God ;  and 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  cavaliers  of  Arthur's 
court  are  intent  merely  on  worldly  fame  and  on  the 
satisfaction  of  their  ambition,  and  they  and  their 
ladies  indulge  in  joys  and  pleasure,  —  there  plans  the 
evil  spirit  in  the  person  of  the  sorcerer  Klinschor, 
from  his  castle  called  Chateau  Merveilleux,  destruc- 
tion for  both  the  spiritual  and  the  worldly  chivalry. 

After  these  preliminary  remarks  on  the  leading 
characteristics  of  our  poem,  we  may  now  cast  a  glance 
at  its  details.  Wolfram's  epic  has  often  and  rightly 
been  called  a_£sycholpgical  epic,  to  be  compared  with 
Goethe's  Faust,  a  psychological  drama.  It  is  true  that 


232  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

Wolfram  took  the  materials  for  his  poem  from  well- 
known  traditions,  yet  he  arranged  the  confused  mass 
of  legendary  lore  in  a  more  symmetrical  form  than 
his  predecessors  had  done,*  and  imbued  it  to  a  great 
extent  with  a  spirit  and  an  originality  entirely 
his  own.  Thus  our  epic  is  not  merely  a  romantic 

,  tale,  delighting  the  imagination  by  the  variety  and 
strangeness  of  its  incidents,  but  it  is  at  the  same 
time  an  exponent  of  the  great  questions  which  al- 
ways have  agitated  the  human  mind.  To  Percival 
as  well  as  to  Faust  may  be  applied  the  words,  "  Es_ 
irrt  der  Mensch,  so  lang  er  strebt."  Percival  is  the 
representative  of  the  sinful  man  who,  trusting  to  his 
own  powers,  despairs  of  God  and  himself,  and  ob- 
tains^ Jhe  heavenly  kingdom  only  by-  repentance  and 
humility. 

II.  The  poem  is  divided  into  sixteen  books ;  the 
first  book  opens  with  an  introduction  in  which  faith 
in  God  and  honorable  conduct  towards  men  are  con- 
trasted with  the  final  doom  reserved  for  those  whose 
soul  is  filled  with  doubt  and  perfidy.  Then,  after 
extolling  the  merits  of  true  womanhood  in  preference 
to  the  beauty  of  mere  personal  charms,  the  poet  an- 
nounces that  he  will  relate  a  tale  of  love  and  sorrow, 
and  begins  by  describing  the  adventures  of  Percival's 

^  father,  which  are  given  at  some  length  in  the  first 
two  books,  while  the  story  of  Percival  himself  opens 
only  with  the  third  book. 

*  However,  it  must  be  said  that  already  Chretien  had  separated 
the  saga  of  Percival  from  the  rest,  and  also  introduced  the  episode  of 
Gawain's  adventures  during  Percival's  despair. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  233 

Gahmuret,  a  younger  son  of  the  King  of  Anjou, 
leaves  his  country  after  the  death  of  his  father,  as  he 
will  not  remain  with  his  elder  brother,  on  whom  the 
crown  had  devolved.  After  various  adventures  in 
the  service  of  the  Caliph  of  Bagdad,  he  is  driven  by 
a  storm  to  the  shores  of  Zazamanc,  in  the  land  of  the 
Moors,  whose  queen  Belakane  is  falsely  accused  of 
having  caused  the  death  of  her  suitor  Eisenhart. 
Her  city  is  therefore  besieged  by  the  latter's  friends 
and  relatives,  both  Moors  and  Christians.  Gahmuret 
defeats  in  combat  the  leaders  of  the  besieging  armies, 
and  marries  the  queen,  who,  in  spite  of  her  dark  color, 
was  renowned  for  her  great  beauty.  Yet,  urged  by 
an  irresistible  desire  for  new  adventures  and  Chris- 
tian countries,  he  soon  abandons  his  wife  and  stealthily 
embarks  for  Sevilla,  not,  however,  without  leaving  a 
letter  for  the  queen,  in  which  he  tells  her  his  de- 
scent and  the  cause  of  his  departure.  Afterward 
Belakane  gives  birth  to  a  son,  who  is  black  and  white 
spotted,  and  who  is  named  Feirefils  (son  of  a  fairy). 
The  beautiful  Moorish  queen,  of  whom  our  poet  has 
drawn  a  most  charming  picture  in  a  few  masterly 
strokes,  is  a  noble  type  both  of  a  faithful  wife  and  a 
loving  mother.  Her  love  is  depicted  in  a  touching 
manner  when  she  kisses  the  white  spots  on  the  skin 
of  her  child,  as  they  remind  her  of  the  absent 
Gahmuret.  The  latter,  after  having  passed  through 
Sevilla  and  Toledo,  comes  to  Kanvoleis,  where  Herze- 
loide,  queen  of  Waleis  (Valois),  had  made  prepara- 
tions for  a  great  tournament,  and  promised  her  hand 
and  crown  to  the  victor.  Gahmuret  carries  away  the 


234  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

palm  of  victory,  yet  his  heart  is  full  of  sadness  and 
tormented  by  the  most  contradictory  feelings.  Dur- 
ing the  combat ,  messengers  had  arrived  from  the 
Queen  of  France,  who  informs  him  of  her  husband's 
death,  and  reminds  him  of  his  former  love  for  her. 
At  the  same  time  he  is  haunted  by  the  recollection 
of  the  faithlessly  forsaken  Moorish  queen,  while  he 
admires  the  radiant  beauty  of  Herzeloide,  who  proffers 
her  love  to  him.  He  is  saddened  by  the  tidings  of 
his  brother's  death,  and  passes  the  night  overcome 
with  grief.  On  the  following  morning  Gahmuret  is 
compelled  by  the  terms  of  the  tournament  to  espouse 
Herzeloide^  with  whom  he  lives  a  happy  life  until  he 
joins  again  the  army  of  the  Caliph  of  Bagdad  and 
meets  his  death  by  treachery.  Shortly  afterwards 
Herzeloide  gives  birth  tn  Pp.rqival,  the  hero  of  our 
poem,  the  step-brother  of  Feirefils. 

The  child  her  falling  tears  bedew ; 
No  wife  was  ever  found  more  true. 
She  teemed  with  joy  and  uttered  sighs  ; 
And  tears  midst  laughter  filled  her  eyes. 
Her  heart  delighted  in  his  birth ; 
In  sorrow  deep  was  drowned  her  mirth. 

Herzeloide,  overwhelmed  by  grief  for  her  hus- 
band's death,  and  fearing  that  a  similar  fate  might 
sometime  befall  her  beloved  child,  withdraws  into  the 
lonely  forest  of  Soltane.  There  she  brings  up  Perci- 
val  in  the  greatest  simplicity  of  mind,  far  away  from 
all  contact  with  the  world,  and  studiously  seeks  to 
keep  him  in  total  ignorance  of  everything  pertaining 
to  chivalry.  In  childish  sport  he  carves  a  bow  and 


MEDIEVAL  GERMANY.  235 

arrows  with  which  he  shoots  the  birds ;  but  he  bursts 
into  tears  when  he  perceives  that  they  sing  no  more. 
He  abstains  from  shooting  them,  he  loves  to  lie  under 
the  trees  and  listen  to  their  sweet  songs.  A  strange 
feeling  permeates  his  heart,  and  he  runs  weeping 
to  his  mother ;  the  latter  asks  him  for  the  cause  of 
his  grief. 

He  cannot  tell  her  ;  naught  he  says. 
'T  is  so  with  children  now-a-days. 

Herzeloide  causes  the  birds  to  be  killed,  as  they 
made  him  sad,  but  he  begs  for  their  life.  She  kisses 
him  and  exclaims,  "  Why  should  I  break  the  com- 
mand of  God  and  disturb  the  peace  of  the  birds  ? " 
Percival  at  once  asked  her,  "What  is  God?"  His 
mother  answers,  "  He  is  brighter  than  daylight ;  yet 
once  he  took  the  form  and  face  of  man.  Prayjx)  him 
in  need,  but  beware  of  the  fiend,  the  faithless  one, 
and  of  wavering  doubt."  His  mother's  efforts  to 
guard  him  against  the  dangers  of  chivalry  are  frus- 
trated by  the  mere  appearance  of  some  knights  in 
glittering  armor,  whom  the  youth  happens  to  meet  in 
the  forest  and  whom  he  takes,  in  the  simplicity  of 
his  imagination,  for  divine  beings.  Percival,  when 
apprised  of  his  error,  expresses  a  wish  to  obtain  the 
honors  of  chivalry,  whereupon  one  of  the  knights 
tells  him  to  go  to  the  court  of  King  Arthur.  He 
went  to  his  mother  and  said,  — 

"  I  saw  four  men,  dear  mother  mine ; 
Not  brighter  is  the  Lord  divine. 
They  spoke  to  me  of  chivalry ; 
Through  Arthur's  power  of  royalty, 


236  THE   GREAT   EPICS  OF 

In  knightly  honor  well  arrayed, 
I  shall  receive  the  accolade." 

Herzeloide  is  sorely  grieved  at  what  Percival  said, 
but  she  cannot  resist  his  eager  desire  to  depart  in 
quest  of  adventures.  In  order  that  he  may  return^  to 
her  soon  and  unharmed,  she  has  him  dressed  in  fools' 
clothes  with  a  fool's  cap  on  his  head.  On  the  night 
before  his  departure  she  bestows  on  him  many  well- 
meant  words  of  advice,  which  he  afterwards  interprets 
too  literally,  and  is  therefore  brought  into  some  awk- 
ward situations.  On  the  following  morning  Percival 
leaves  his  mother,  and  when  he  disappears  from  her 
view,  she  falls  to  the  ground  and  dies  broken-hearted. 
Soon  he  comes  to  a  tent  where  he  perceives  Jeschjjte, 
the  wife  of  Duke  Orilus  de  Lalander ;  and,  misunder- 
standing his  mother's  advice,  he  embraces  the  lady 
and  takes  her  ring  from  her.  Then  he  departs,  and 
the  duke  arrives,  who  heaps  bitter  reproaches  on  his 
innocent  wife,  ill  treats  her,  and  vows  to  take  fierce 
vengeance  on  the  stranger.  In  the  forest  of  Brezil- 
ian  Percival  meets  a  lady,  called  Siguus,  who  with 
loud  crying  bewails  the  fate  of  her  lover,  who  lies  dead 
in  her  arms,  having  been  slain  in  a  duel.  Percival 
offers  to  avenge  his  death,  and  Sigune,  moved  by  the 
charms  of  his  youthful  innocence,  asks  him  his 
name.  "When  he  replies  in  a  touching  manner, 
"Bon  fils,  cher  fils,  beau  fils,  I  always  have  been 
called,"  Sigune  knows  who  he  is,  and  tells  him  his 
name  and  parentage.  After  leaving  her,  he  comes 
near  the  city  of  Nantes  in  Brittany,  and  meets  Jfther, 
who  was  called  the  Eed  Knight,  as  he  was  clad  in 


MEDIEVAL   GERMANY.  237 

red  armor.  Ither,  claiming  the  crown  of  Brittany, 
has,  as  a  token  of  his  pretensions,  snatched  a  golden 
goblet  from  the  Eound  Table,  and  requests  Percival 
to  bear  for  him  a  defying  message  to  the  knights  of 
King  Arthur.  When  Percival  arrives  at  the  royal 
residence  in  Nantes,  Arthur  and  his  whole  court  are 
astonished  at  the  strange  attire  of  the  youth,  while 
they  cannot  help  admiring  his  great  beauty.  Perci- 
val in  his  childlike  manner  asks  at  once  of  Arthur  to 
confer  on  him  the  honors  of  chivalry  and  to  let  him 
have  the  armor  of  the  Eed  Knight.  While  the  king 
reluctantly  grants  his  request,  as  he  fears  that  Perci- 
val will  be  slain,  the  latter  mounts  his  horse  and 
rides  away.  Queen  Guinevere  with  her  knights  and 
ladies  went  to  the  window  to  see  him  depart ;  one  of 
the  noble  ladies,  the  beautiful  Kuunexacg,  who  had 
vowed  not  to  laugh  until  she  had  seen  him  on 
whom  the  highest  honors  should  be  bestowed,  bursts 
out  laughing  at  the  sight  of  Percival  and  is  therefore 
severely  punished  by  Sir  Kai,  the(seneschal. ;  _Anta-_ 
nor,  who  was  pledged  not  to  speak  until  Kunnevare 
should  laugh,  breaks  his  silence.*  Percival,  behold- 
ing the  wrong  that  Kunnevare  had  suffered  on  his 
account,  is  determined  to  wreak  vengeance  on  Sir 
Kai  hereafter.  Now  he  meets  again  the  Eed  Knight, 
asks  of  him  his  horse  and  armor,  and,  as  Ither  strikes 
him  with  the  shaft  of  his  spear,  hurls  his  javelin 
at  the  head  of  his  adversary.  Ither  falls  dead  to 

*  The  incidents  of  not  laughing  or  not  speaking  are  of  frequent 
occurrence  in  early  stories  of  this  kind  ;  cf.  also  the  Mabinogi  of 
Peredur,  p.  311. 


238  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

the  ground.  Percival  turns  about  the  body  of  the 
dead  man  without  being  able  to  take  off  his  armor. 
The  young  Iwanet^who  before  on  Percival's  arrival  at 
Arthur's  residence  had  been  very  courteous  towards 
the  youthful  hero,  aids  him  now  in  putting  on  Ither's 
armor  and  gives  him  some  advice  in  regard  to  the  use 
of  the  sword  and  spear.  Percival  sends  back  the 
golden  goblet  to  Arthur,  and  threatens  vengeance  to 
Sir  Kai.  He  rides  forward,  and  is  henceforth  himself 
called  the  Red  Knight.  Afterwards  he  comes  to  the 
castle  of  an  old  knight,  named  Gurnemanz,  who  re- 
ceives him  very  kindly,  but  is  greatly  astonished  when 
the  fools'  clothes  appear  under  the  red  armor.  He 
instructs  him  in  knightly  warfare  and  in  everything 
relating  to  chivalry ;  he  also  lays  down  for  him  some 
rules  of  conduct,  among  others  that  of  not  asking  too 
many  questions. 

After  Percival  had  remained  a  short  time  with 
Gurnemanz  and  outgrown  his  childlike  simplicity,  he 
comes  to  a  city  in  which  the  queen  Conduiramour 
is  besieged  by  the  army  of  King  Clamide,  whose  pro- 
posals of  marriage  she  has  rejected.  Percival  distin- 
guishes himself  by  his  great  bravery,  especially  in  a 
single  combat  with  Clamide,  raises  the  siege  of  the 
city,  and  marries  thp,  qnp.pja.  with  whom  he  lives  a 
short  time  in  great  happiness.  Afterwards  he  takes 
leave  of  his  beloved  wife  in  order  to  see  his  mother, 
whom  he  supposes  to  be  living,  and  also  to  seek  new 
adventures.  From  the  time  of  Percival's  departure 
from  his  wife  begins  a  series  of  hard  trials  for  him. 
Lost  in  deep  grief  at  the  recollection  of  the  noble 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  239 

Conduiramour,  he  gives  the  reins  to  his  horse  and 
arrives  towards  evening  at  a  lake  where  some  men 
are  fishing.  He  asks  them  for  a  night's  lodging, 
whereupon  one  of  them,  distinguished  by  his  rich 
attire  and  the  sadness  of  his  countenance,  directs  him 
to  a  castle,  where,  he  says,  he  himself  will  be  his 
host.  Percival  follows  his  direction  and  comes  to 
a  castle,  when  a  squire,  learning  who  has  sent  him 
hither,  lets  down  the  drawbridge.  In  the  court- 
yard the  grass  has  grown  up,  which  proves  that  no 
festal  games  of  chivalry  have  been  held  there  for 
some  time.  Percival  enters  a  spacious  hall,  which  is 
lit  by  a  hundred  lustres,  and  four  hundred  knights 
are  seen  sitting  on  a  hundred  couches.  In  the  lord 
of  the  castle  he  recognizes  the  richly  attired  stranger 
whom  he  met  at  the  lake.  Fires  of  aloe  wood  spread 
their  aromatic  odors  about  the  hall.  The  lord  of 
the  castle  invites  Percival  to  take  a  seat  by  his  side 
near  the  fireplace.  Suddenly  a  squire  enters,  carry- 
ing a  blood-dripping  lance,  at  the  sight  of  which  all 
break  out  into  loud  bewailings.  When  the  lance, 
after  having  been  borne  around  the  hall,  has  been 
removed,  a  door  like  polished  steel  opens  and  there 
appear  in  solemn  procession  twenty-four  gorgeously 
attired  maidens.  Some  of  them  carry  burning 
tapers  on  golden  lamps,  others  ivory  trestles,  others 
still  a  table  plate  combining  the  colors  of  a  garnet 
and  a  hyacinth.  At  last  there  enters  the  queen, 
Urepanse  de  Joie,  the  purest  of  women,  filling  the 
hall  with  dazzling  light  and  bearing  the  joy  of  Para- 
dise, the  greatest  of  all  heavenly  bliss,  the  Holy 


240  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

Grail,  which  is  placed  on  the  table  in  front  of  Perci- 
val  and  of  the  host,  whose  sad  countenance  tells  of 
great  physical  and  moral  pain.  Then  begins  the  feast 
for  which  the  Holy  Grail  provides  all  manner  of 
meat  and  drink.  Percival,  although  greatly  aston- 
ished at  the  wonderful  things  he  sees,  and  at  the 
sadness  which  reigns  amidst  all  the  splendor,  recol- 
lects the  advice  of  Gurnemanz  not  to  ask  too  many 
questions,  and  therefore  does  not  ask  even  when  his 
host  presents  him  with  a  costly  sword  and  alludes  to 
his  bodily  affliction.  The  feast  being  ended,  the 
queen  and  the  maidens  depart,  while  Percival  per- 
ceives through  the  opening  door  in  an  adjoining 
apartment  a  beautiful  but  very  aged  man,  reposing 
on  a  bed.  Percival  is  conducted  to  a  sumptuous 
sleeping-room,  where  he  passes  the  night  tormented 
by  dreams,  which  forebode  his  coming  unhappiness. 
When  he  awakes,  he  looks  in  vain  for  attendants ; 
he  puts  on  his  armor,  and  while  the  castle  seems  as  if 
deserted,  he  finds  his  horse  in  the  courtyard,  where 
tracks  show  that  a  great  number  of  knights  have 
sallied  forth  through  the  castle  gate.  Enraged  at 
this  uncourteous  behavior,  he  mounts  his  horse ;  but 
hardly  has  he  passed  the  drawbridge  when  a  squire, 
keeping  guard  at  the  castle  gate,  scolds  him  in  harsh 
words  for  not  having  asked  the  question  on  which 
depended  the  recovery  of  the  sick  lord  of  the  castle 
and  his  own  happiness.  Percival,  confused  by  what 
he  has  heard,  rides  on  and  meets  Sigune  holding  in 
her  arms  the  embalmed  corpse  of  her  lover.  He 
learns  from  her  that  he  has  been  at  the  castle  of  the 


MEI>LEVAL   GERMANY.  241 

Holy  Grail;  but  when  she  hears  that  he  has  not 
asked  for  the  cause  of  the  sadness  reigning  in  the 
castle,  she  reproaches  him  bitterly  and  tells  him  to 
leave  her  at  once. 

He  rides  forward  and  meets  Jeschute  in  a  pitiful 
condition,  as  her  husband,  having  suspected  her  on 
account  of  Percival's  former  silly  conduct,  is  still 
angry  with  her  and  disdains  her.  Percival  and  Orilus 
meet  in  hostile  encounter. 

Sir  Percival  in  full  array 

Rode  forth  with  speed  into  the  fray 

Against  Orilus  in  the  field. 

He  saw  upon  his  enemy's  shield 

A  dragon  grim  ;  alive  it  seemed. 

Another  dragon  fiercely  gleamed 

From  off  his  helmet's  mighty  crest. 

They  both  desired  to  gain  great  praise  ; 
And  from  their  battle-swords  tlie  bkze, 
And  from  their  crests  the  fiery  glow, 
That  sprang  from  many  a  mighty  blow, 
Were  seen  then  shining  far  and  wide. 

Percival  after  a  fierce  contest  vanquishes  Orilus 
and  compels  him  to  crave  mercy.  It  is  accorded 
to  him  on  the  condition  that  he  will  again  bestow 
his  love  on  Jeschute,  go  as  a  prisoner  to  Arthur's 
court,  and  bear  a  threatening  message  to  Sir  Kai. 
At  the  same  time,  in  a  hp.rmft'a  ppll  npar  hy,  bpf)r>no-- 

imr  fr>  TVAvrAp.pflf^  TWm'vg.1   of  his  OWn  free  will    takes 

an  oath  that  Jeschute  is  innocent,  and  that  his  folly 
was  the  cause  of  her  grief.  Orilus  and  his  wife  are 
reconciled. 


242  THE  GREAT  EPICS   OF 

In  the  meantime  Arthur  and -his  court  have  set 
out  in  order  to  meet  the  valiant  Red  Knight,  who  had 
enjoined  on  all  the  knightly  prisoners  he  had  made  to 
yield  themselves^to  Kunnevare.  Arthur,  coming  near 
the  castle  of  Mont  Salvage,  commands  his  knights  not 
to  enter  into  any  combats  without  his  permission,  as 
they  might  possibly  be  attacked  by  the  chivalry  of  the 
Holy  Grail,  defending  their  territory.  At  the  same 
time  Percival  wanders  through  the  forest  and  by 
chance  comes  near  Arthur's  camp.  During  the  night, 
while  there  is  a  heavy  fall  of  snow,  a  falcon  flies  from 
Arthur's  court  to  Percival,  and  remains  with  him 
until  the  next  morning.  The  falcon  wounds  a  goose, 
from  which  three  drops  of  blood  fall  on  the  snow  and 
recall  to  Percival's  mind  his  wife,  Conduiramour,  her 
lovely  countenance,  and  how  a  tear  stood  in  each  eye 
and  one  on  her  chin  when  he  left  her.* 

Now  his  fidelity  appears. 

When  he  beholds  the  bloody  tears 

Upon  the  snow  that  was  so  white, 

He  thinks :  "  Who  on  these  colors  bright 

Has  here  bestowed  so  great  a  care  ? 

Conduiramour,  to  thee,  the  fair, 

They  are  alike,  to  thee  alone. 

And  God  great  joy  to  me  has  shown, 

Since  I  found  here  the  picture  thine. 

Let  praise  be  to  the  Lord  divine ; 

And  eke  to  all  the  works  of  his ! 

Conduiramour,  thine  image  is 

*  The  incident  of  blood-drops  on  the  snow  reminding  one  of  a 
beloved  being  is  to  be  found  very  often  in  the  oldest  Keltic  and 
German  sagas ;  cf.  the  Mabinogi  of  Peredur,  p.  315. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  243 

Here  in  the  snow  now  dyed  with  red 
And  in  the  blood  on  snowy  bed. 
Conduiramour,  to  them  compare 
Thy  forms  of  grace  and  beauty  rare." 

He  rests  absorbed  in  deep  revery,  utterly  lost  to  the 
world  without.  Thus  a  squire  of  Kunnevare  finds 
him,  and  at  once  reports  at  Arthur's  camp  that  he  has 
seen  a  knight  ready  for  combat.  Percival,  whose  eyes 
are  turned  away  from  the  three  drops  of  blood  by  a 
movement  of  his  horse,  throws  off  a  knight  who  at- 
tacks him  ;  a  similar  fate  befalls  Sir  Kai^whosp.  right 
arm  and  Ip.ft  IP.CT  are  broken,  and  who  is  thus  severely 
punished  for  his  ill-treatment  of  Kunnevare,  while 
Percival  falls  back  into  his  unconscious  condition. 
At  last  Gawain  approaches  unarmed^  and,  suspecting 
the  magic  power  of  the  drops  of  blood,  throws  a  cloth 
over  them.  Then  Percival  collects  himself,  and  rec- 
cognizing  in  Gawain  his  cousin,  rides  with  him  to 
the  king's  court,  where  he  is  met  with  the  greatest 
honors  by  Arthur  and  Guinevere,  and  especially  by 
Kunnfi-vare,  who  receives  him  as  hp.r-  knight.  The 
king  and  all  his  cavaliers  request  Percival  to  enter 
into  the  knightly  fellowship  of  the  Bound  Table. 
While  a  great  feast  is  going  on,  there  appears  on  a  __ 
mule  a  woman,  called  Condrie  Jfv  SOTP^™,  nf  VmrrjH 
appearance,  the  terrible  messenger  of  the  Holy  Grail, 
who  thus  addresses  Arthur,  — 

"  Thou  son  of  Uther  Pendragon, 
A  shame  it  is,  what  thou  hast  done, 
For  thee  and  many  a  Briton's  fame. 
The  best  of  every  land  could  claim 


244  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

To  sit  here  in  their  glory's  blaze, 
If  poison  tainted  not  their  praise. 
Denied  is  now  the  Table  Round, 
The  false  one  in  your  midst  is  found. 
King  Arthur,  once  thy  royal  crown 
Surpassed  all  others  in  renown  ; 
Now  from  its  height  thy  fame  will  fall, 
Thy  royal  dignity  withal. 
Thy  lofty  honor  will  decline, 
As  false  has  proved  the  praise  of  thine. 
The  glory  of  the  Table  Round, 
Its  power,  far  and  wide  renowned, 
By  Percival  has  been  impaired, 
Since  he  its  fellowship  has  shared." 

Then  Condrie  turns  to  Percival  and  overwhelms  him 
with  maledictions,  since  at  the  sight  of  the  wonders 
of  Mont  Salvage  he  has  not  asked  the  fatal  question. 
Percival,  deeply  moved,  listens  to  the  accusation,  yet 
without  being  conscious  of  any  guilt  on  his  part.  At 
the  same  time  Condrie  summons  the  knights  of  the 
Eound  Table  to  set  out  to  free  the  maidens  that  are 
imprisoned  in  the  magic  castle  called  Chateau  Mer- 
veilleux.  In  the  meantime  a  knight  appears  who 
accuses  Gawain  of  the  murder  of  his  lord,  and  chal- 
lenges him  to  a  single  combat  which  is  to  take  place 
after  forty  days  in  the  land  of  Ascalon.  While  a 
pagan  queen  from  the  East  brings  news  of  Feirefils, 
the  half-brother  of  Percival,  the  latter  breaks  out  in 
bitter  complaints  against  his  fate.  He  renounces  the 
Eound  Table,  of  which  he  thinks  himself  unworthy, 
despairs  of  God's  mercy  and  justice,  departs  to  seek 
the  Holy  Grail,  and  vows  that  henceforth  only  a 
woman,  his  wife  Conduiramour,  shall  be  his  guardian 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  245 

angel  in  future  combats.  For  some  time  during  Per- 
cival's  despair  Gawain  becomes  the  principal  hero, 
and  strange  are  the  adventures  related  of  him.  Yet 
Percival  is  never  entirely  lost  sight  of,  but  appears 
in  the  background  struggling  against  his  destiny. 
Gawain  is  thp.  true  ideal  of  worldly  knighthood,  but  he 


tbp.  purity  of  soul  which  is  necessary 
to  find  the  Holy  Grail,  that  is.  God,  and  therefore  in 


spite  of  all  his  seeking  he  cannot  find  it.    Percival  on 


account   of  his  youthful  innocp.ncp.  found  the  Holy 


Grail  without  seeking  it.  but  in  his  self-sufficiency 
threw  away  the  possession  of  thp.  greatest  bliss  on^ 
earth. 

One  of  the  most  charming  episodes  is  Gawain's 
meeting  with  Obilot,  a  maiden  who  still  lacks  five 
years  before  she  will  be  of  age,  and  yet  begs  Gawain  to 
be  her  knight.  After  some  time  Gawain  comes  near 
the  magnificent  royal  castle  in  the  land  of  Ascalon, 
where  the  combat  is  to  take  place  between  him  and 
the  knight  who  accused  him  of  the  murder  of  his 
lord.  On  his  way  Gawain  meets  the  king,  who 
recommends  him  to  the  hospitality  of  his  sister 
Antikonie.  Dazzled  by  the  lady's  beauty,  he  prof- 
fers his  love  to  her,  when  all  at  once  an  aged  knight 
enters  the  room,  recognizes  Gawain  and  calls  the 
people  to  arms,  since  Gawain,  as  he  says,  has  slain 
his  lord.  Gawain  and  Antikonie  seek  refuge  in  a 
turret  of  the  castle,  where  Gawain  defends  himself 
with  the  bolt  of  the  door  and  uses  a  chess-board 
as  shield,  while  the  princess  hurls  the  large  and 
heavy  figures  of  the  chessmen  against  the  besieging 


246  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

host.  The  king  arrives  and  at  first  encourages  his 
men  to  the  attack,  but  soon  after  a  truce  is  es- 
tablished. 

After  long  wanderings  Percival  meets  an  'old 
knightjjwho^with  his  'wife  and  two  daughters  is_ 
engaged  in  a  pilgrimage  to  the  cell  of  a  hermit  and 
in  spite  of  the  deep  snow  walks  barefooted  through 
the  forest.  The  old  knight  reproaches  Percival  for 
not  observing  the  holy  time,  and  advises  him,  as  it  is 
GoodjiidaOu  to  repent  of  his  sins.  Percival  in  his 
hatred  of  God  does  not  heed  his  words  and  rides 
away,  but  soon  after  his  soul  is  roused  to  better  feel- 
ings ;  for  the  first  time  he  thinks  of  his  Creator,  and, 
giving  the  reins  to  his  horse,  he  arrives  at  the  cell  of 
the  hermit.  The  latter,  whose  name  was  Trevre- 
cent,  receives  him  kindly,  and  as  Percival  confesses 
that  he  has  not  entered  a  church  for  more  than  five 
years,  he  warns  him  to  shun  pride  and  worldly  ambi- 
tiniT^flTK^  pfxhnrts  hini  to  rp.peritanf'.p.  and  humility. 
Afterwards  he  relates  how  a  dove,  descends  from 
heaven  every  Good  Friday,  and  places  a  wafer  on  the 
Holy  Grail,  by  which  the  latter  receives  the  power  of 
gJZJI^-^rna1  1lfp  *n(*  PT0.Yif|iPg  its  servants  with  all 
kinds  of  meat  and  drink.  As  Percival  announces  his 
determination  to  seek  the  Holy  Grail,  the  hermit 
tells  him  that  it  cannot  be  gained  by  force,  but  only 
in  humility  by  those  who  have  been  called  to  it 
by  heaven.  Percival  learns  at  the  same  time  from 
the  hermit  that  the  Red  Knight  Ithej.  whom  he  had 
killed  near  Nantes,  was^  his  I  uncle,  and  also  that  his 
mother  Herzeloide  had  died  broken-hearted  after  he 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  247 

had  left  her.  Then  the  hermit  informs  him  that 
Anfortas,  the  present  king  of  the  Holy  Grail,  having 
yielded  to  the  allurement  of  forbidden  love,  had  been 
severely  punished  for  his  offence.  In  a  combat  with 
a  pagan  he  was  wounded  by  ft  pnisnrtp^  fynfigj  and 
since  that  time  had  been  suffering  intensely  and  no 
one  could  cure  him,  while  on  the  other  hand  the  sight 
of  the  Holy  Grail  prevented  him  from  dying.  At  last 
there  appeared,  the  hermit  continues,  a  prophecy 
written  on  the  Holv  Grail,  saying  f-.hn.i-.  whpnp.vp.r  n. 
knifiht.  should  cntrm  and  ask  fpj  the  cause  of  tbe^ 
king's  sufferings  without  being  reminded  of  it.  the 
king  would  recover  and  his  crown  would  devolve 
on  that  knight.  It  had  indeed  happened  that  a 
knight  came  to  the  castle  of  the  Holy  Grail,  but  he 
was  so  foolish  as  not  to  ask  any  questions.  After 
some  time  Percival  confesses  with  deep  regret  that 
he  was  that  knight.  The  hermit  consoles  him  and 
tells  him  to  trust  in  God  •  )ae  also  explains  to  him 
the  wonders  of  Mont  Salvage.  In  the  course  of 
their  conversation  it  became  evident  that  Trevrecent 
was  a  brother  of  Anfortas,  Herzeloide.  and  TJrepanse 
deD  oie.  After  some  days  spent  in  repentance  and 
devotion,  Percival  takes  leave  of  TrjWrp.cp.nt,  and  t.lipf 

givpg  him   nhgnlnHpn   pf  his 


In  the  following  parts  of  our  poem  the  prominent 
features  are  the  attacks  of  the  dark  powers  of  de- 
struction against  the  worldly  and  spiritual  chivalry^ 
The  former  is  represented,  as  has  been  indicated 
above,  by  the  Round  Table  and  particularly  by  Ga- 
wain,  and  the  latter  by  the  knighthood  of  the  Holy 


248  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

Grail  Just  as  Mephistopheles  has  put  away  the 
characteristics  of  the  old  Northern  phantom,  his 
horns,  tail,  and  claws,  and  is  dressed  like  "  a  squire  of 
high  degree,  in  scarlet  coat  with  golden  trimmings, 
a  peacock's  feather  on  his  hat,"  so  likewise  his  ser- 
vants and  instruments  do  not  appear  repulsive,  but  as- 
sume beauteous,  enticing  forms  to  attain  their  object. 
Thus  Gawain  undergoes  the  severest  trials  on  account 
of  a  beautiful  coquettish  lady,  called  Orgueilleuse, 
whose  very  name  denotes  the  pride  which  was  the 
cause  of  Lucifer's  fall.  Gawain  is  at.  last,  triumphant. 
and  also  comes,  after  various  adventures,  into  pogj^ 
session  of  the  Chateau  Merveilleux^where  he  frees 
the  maidens  that  had  been  imprisoned  there  by  the 
sorcerer  Klinschor.  Yet  this  is  all  he  can  do ;  his 
chivalrous  virtues  and  his  reliance  on  the  mere  forms 
of  religion  without  being  permeated  by  its  spirit,  do 
not  permit  him  to  rise  to  a  higher  level,  that  is,  to 
see  the  Holy  Grail. 

The  attacks  against  the  Grail  were  made  espe- 
cially by  a  beautiful  pagan  queen,  called  Secun- 
dille.  In  the  meantime  Percival,  continuing  in 
his  repentance,  had  been  purified  by  many  severe 
trials.  With  indifference  he  had  passed  by  the 
magic  castle,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  the  knights 
in  front  of  the  castle  who  saw  him  ride  onward. 
Afterwards  Percival  fights  and  conquers  Gawaip 
without  intending  it.  His  last  combat  is  with  his 
half-brother  Fm'rp.fils  who  invokes  his  pagan  gods 
and  fights  in  the  service  of  Secundille.  Percival 
prays  to  God  for  help,  thinks  ofhis  faithful  wife 


MEDIEVAL    GERMANY.  249 

Conduiramour,  and  after  a  long  and  fierce  struggle 
deals  at  bis  adversary  such  a  blow  with  his  sword 
that  it  breaks.  Feirefils  disdains  to  avail  him- 
self of  this  advantage,  and,  -the  combat  being  thus 
ended,  the  brothers  recognize  each  other.  Percival, 
conscious  of  his  own  un worthiness  and  strong  in  his 
faith  in  God,  rides  to  Mont  Salvage,  prostrates  him- 
sp.Tf,  praying  before  the  Holy  Grail,  and  inquires  after 
thecause  of  the  suffering  of  the  king,  whereupon  the 
latter  recovers  and  the  crown  is  given  to  PercivaL 
At  the  same  time  his  happiness  is  increased  by  the 
arrival  of  his  wife,  Conduiramour,  with  his  two  sons. 
of  whom  one,  called  Lohengrin,  is  destined  lo_succeed 
his  father  in  the  kingdom  .of-  the  -HoIyJlrail,  while 
the  other  is  declared  king  of  his  worldly  dominions. 
Henceforth  the  orders  of  the  Grail  demand  that 
whenever  one  of  its  knights  is  sent  out  to  become 
the  lord  of  foreign  lands,  no  questions  must  be  asked 
about  his  descent.  Lohengrin  comes  to  Brabant  in 
a  skiff  drawn  by  a  swan,  and  marries  the  duchess  of 
the  country.  In  spite  of  his  warning,  his  wife  asks 
the  forbidden  question,  whereupon  he  is  conveyed 
back  to  the  Grail  by  the  swan.  Fejrefils  becomes  a 
Christian  and  is  wedded  to  Urepanse  de  Joie,  whose 
charms  had  made  him  forget  Secundille  and  his 
pagan  gods.  He  afterwards  goes  to  India,  where  he 
establishes  a  Christian  kingdom.  His  son  is  called 
Priest  John,  a  name  assumed  also  by  his  successors. 

The  fact  that  the  kinpdom__nf__thfi  Hflly  (rraU._gould 
bo  obtained  by  faith  alone,  and  not  by  any  mere 
formal  Christianity,  as  that  of  Gawain,  shows  that 


250  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

Wolfram  conceived  his  work  in  an  evangelical  and 
reformatory  spirit,  and  thus  differed  greatly  from  the 
mass  of  his  contemporaries.  On  the  other  hand  our 
poem  is  not  only  interesting  on  account  of  the  le- 
gends it  contains  and  the  principles  it  sets  forth,  but 
also  as  giving  a  graphic  and  faithful  description  of 
the  beliefs,  customs,  and  manners  of  the  time.  "  Bu£ 
all  the  outward  splendor  of  the  poemjwould_be  of 
little  worth  if  it  was  not  permeated  by  the  great 
spirit  of  the  poet,  who  used  the  old  legends  to  present 
to  us  the  spiritual  development,  in  its  phases  from 
childlike  simplicity  to  doubt  and  despair,  and  from 
these  to  faith  and  reconciliation."  The  idea  of  oppos- 
ing to  each  other  the  desire  of  earthly  enjoyment 
and  the  yearning  for  heavenly  possessions  belongs 
in  its  development  chiefly  to  Wolfram,  although 
its  germ  can  be  found  in  the  French  poems  which 
are  based  on  the  same  legends.  In  this  place  we 
may  quote  the  statement  of  Professor  K.  Bartsch,  who 
says :  "  Wolfram  was  the  first  to  set  forth  the  con- 
nection in  which  this  question  [the  fatal  question] 
and  the  acquisition  of  the  Grail,  depending  on  it, 
stand  to  the  religious  life  of  the  individual.  The 
French  poets  did  not  know  what  to  do  with  them,  and 
are  entangled  in  contradictions  with  the  idea  of  the 
Grail.  Percival  comes  into  the  castle  of  the  Grail, 
does  not  ask  the  question,  and  is  therefore  upbraided 
by  Sigune.  But  with  the  French  continuators  [of 
Chretien's  unfinished  work],  Gawain  also  comes  there, 
and  the~scene  is  repeated.  Gawain  asks  the  question 
and  yet  he  does  not  obtain  the  kingdom;  the  roi 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  251 

pecheur  replies  that  he  is  not  worthy  of  it,  while  on 
the  other  hand  externally  he  has  fulfilled  all  the 
conditions.  The  true  reason  why  he  is  not  worthy 
is  not  perceived,  —  because  his  ideal  is  mere  worldly 
knighthood  and  its  splendor." 

Bayard  Taylor  gives  an  excellent  description  of  the 
mental  and  moral  characteristics  of  Wolfram :  "  The 
author's  peculiar  genius  is  manifested  in  every  part 
[of  the  poem],  and  thus  the  work  has  a  spiritual  co- 
herence which  distinguishes  it  from  all  other  epics  of 
the  age.  ...  I  must  confess  that  the  more  I  study 
the  poem,  the  more  I  find  a  spiritual  meaning  shin- 
ing through  its  lines.  _Th_e  perfect  innocence  and 
purity  of  Parzival  as  a  boy  are  wonderfully  drawn ; 
the  doubts  of  his  age  of  manhood,  the  wasted  years, 
the  trouble  and  gloom  which  brood  over  him,  suggest 
a  large  background  of  earnest  thought ;  and  although 
the  symbolism  of  the  Holy  Grail  may  not  be  entirely 
clear,  it  means  at  least  this  much,  — _£hat  peace  of 
soul  comes  only  through  faith  and  obedience.  Like 
Tennyson's  Galahad,  Wolfram  seems  to  say,  in  '  Par- 
zival,' — 

'  I  muse  on  joy  that  will  not  cease, 

Pure  spaces  clothed  in  living  beams, 
Pure  lilies  of  eternal  peace, 

Whose  odors  haunt  my  dreams.' 

"  To  Wolfranj  von  Eschenbach  the  external  shows 
of  life  were  but  disguises  through  which  he  sought 
to  trace  the  action  of  the  moral  and  spiritual  forces 
which  develop  the  human  race.  His  psychological 
instincts  were  too  profound  for  a  simple  tale  of 


252  THE   GREAT   EPICS  OF 

knightly  adventure ;  he  was  not  enough  of  a  literary 
artist  to  arrange  his  conceptions  of  man's  nature  into 
a  symmetrical  form,  and  then  to  represent  them  com- 
pletely through  his  characters ;  and  thus  we  find  in 
'  Parzival '  a  struggle  between  the  two  elements,  — 
between  thought  and  language,  between  idea  and  ac- 
tion. This  peculiarity  is  at  first  a  disturbance  to  the 
reader,  but  it  does  not  prevent  him  from  feeling  the 
latent,  underlying  unity  of  the  work."  * 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  said  that  Wolfram's  refer- 
ence to  the  ProvenQal  Guiot  (Kiot),  who  is  said  by 
him  to  have  written  in  Northern  French,  is  probably 
a  mere  fiction.  There  was  a  poet  named  Guiot  de 
Provins,  from  a  little  town  in  Brie,  and  it  may  be,  as 
Simrock  thinks,  that  Wolfram  referred  to  him,  in  order 
that  he  might  appear  to  have  a  famous  ProvenQal  poet 
whom  he  could  oppose  to  the  authority  of  the  well- 
known  Chretien.  Yet  in  spite  of  Wolfram's  dispar- 
aging remarks  in  regard  to  Chretien,  it  is  a  matter 
of  fact,  as  W.  Wackernagel  f  has  shown,  that  whole 
passages  in  our  epic  agree  almost  verbally  with  Chre- 
tien. There  is  little  doubt  that  Wolfram  followed  on 
the  whole  the  order  of  the  story  as  found  in  Chretien, 
from  Percival's  solitary  education  in  the  forest  to  the 
appearance  of  Feirefils.  Nevertheless,  apart  from  the 
passages  .taksnalmost  verbally  fromjChre'tien,  Wolf- 
ram's originality  in  treating  the  subject  ancf  infusing 
it  with  new  ideas  and  beauties  is  seen  everywhere. 
The  first  book,  in  which  some  of  the  adventures  of 

*  Bayard  Taylor,  Studies  in  German  Literature,  pp.  92,  93. 
t  Altfranzosische  Lieder  und  Leiche,  p.  191. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  253 

Gahmuret,  Percival's  father,  are  related,  contains,  be- 
sides Eisenhart,  several  names  which  are  German.* 
They  belong  to  the  German  sagas  of  the  North  Sea, 
and  there  is  little  doubt  that  even  Belakane,  although 
her  name  is  certainly  not  German,  may  originally 
have  belonged  to  the  same  sagas.  In  Gudrun  we 
meet  with  several  foreign  names,  and  Belakane  was 
probably  as  much  a  Mooress  as  Siegfried  in  Gudrun 
was  a  Moor.  By  the  mediaeval  poets  all  pagans  were  / 
commonly  represented  as  Moors  ;  and  in  consequence 
of  this  conception,  and  the  predilection  of  the  age  for 
whatever  seemed  fantastical,  they  were  placed  in 
Eastern  countries.  It  is  certain  that  the  first  book 
and  the  last  two  books,  treating  of  Feirefils  and 
Lohengrin,  are  not  based  on  any  French  poems,  but 
belong  to  Wolfram  alone  and  entirely. 

We  have  referred  to  the  Mabinogion.f  and  in 
the  Notes  J  will  be  found  a  brief  sketch  of  the  Ma- 
binogi  of  Peredur,  which,  as  has  been  said  before,  is 
often  considered  to  be  the  primitive  source  of  the 
Percival  saga.  If  this  were  so,  the  Mabinogi  would 
evidently  contain  a  much  simpler  version  of  the 
story  than  it  really  presents.  The  spear  with  the 
streams  of  blood  flowing  from  it,  and  thex  salver)  in 
which  was  a  man's  head  surrounded  by  a  profusion 
of  blood,§  indicate  the  impress  which  the  Mabinqgi 
received  from  the  legend  of  the  Holy  Grail,  while 
the  latter  must  primitively  have  been  unconnected 

*  They  have  not  been  given  in  the  brief  outline  on  the  preceding 
pages,  as  they  are  of  no  great  importance  in  the  story  of  the  poem. 
t  p.  226.  J  Note  9,  p.  310.  §  p.  313. 


254  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

with,  and  foreign  to  the  earliest  account  of  the  Per- 
cival  story.  On  the  other  hand,  although  the  Mabi- 
nogi  is  not  the  primitive  source  of  the  Percival  saga, 
it  presents  some  features  which  show  the  legend  of 
the  Grail  in  an  earlier  stage  of  development  than 
it  appears  in  Wolfram's  epic.  The  word  "Grail" 
denoted,  as  has  been  stated  above,*  a  cup  or  dish, 
and  the  salver  with  the  bloody  head,  in  the  Mabi- 
nogi,  points  clearly  to  John  the  Baptist.  Again  the 
Knights  Templars,  after  whose  organization  that  of 
the  chivalry  of  the  Grail  was  conceived,  were  accused 
of  worshipping  certain  idols,  and  particularly  a  head, 
which  they  invoked  in  the  expectation  of  obtaining 
from  it  riches  and  the  fruits  of  the  earth  in  abundance. 
It  was  also  asserted  that  the  novices  of  the  order  had 
to  prostrate  themselves  before  the  head, as  Percival  does 
before  the  Grail.  The  Genoese  obtained  possession  of 
a  precious  cup  which  was  supposed  to  be  the  Holy 
Grail,  when  Caesarea  in  1101  was  taken  by  the  Cru- 
saders. They  dedicated  the  cup  to  the  Chapel  of 
John  the  Baptist.  In  the  French  prose  romance  of 
the  Grail,  Arthur  celebrates  the  great  festival,  during 
which  Condrie  appears,  not  on  Pentecost,  as  the  court 
expected,  but  on  St.  John's  day.  In  the  version  of 
Menessier,  a  continuator  of  Chretien,  Percival,  after 
being  crowned  king  of  the  Grail,  takes  a  vow  on 
St.  John's  day,  and  lives  for  five  years  on  nothing 
but  the  food  supplied  by  the  Grail.  Although  in 
the  Mabinogi  the  name  of  John  the  Baptist  is  not 
mentioned,  yet  it  is  still  the  head  that  seems  to  be  of 

*  p.  227. 


MEDIEVAL    GERMANY.  255 

prime  importance,  and  not  the  salver  or  dish,  as  in 
the  later  legends  of  the  Grail.  Some  of  the  transfor- 
mations of  the  story,  as  they  appear  after  Wolfram's 
time,  have  been  indicated  above ;  and  we  may  here 
add  that  the  spear  of  the  pagan,  by  which  Anfor- 
tas  was  wounded,  became  afterwards  the  lance  with 
which  Longinus  pierced  the  side  of  Jesus,  while  the 
sword  that  the  king  gives  to  Percival  in  the  castle  of 
the  Grail  was  supposed  in  later  times  to  have  for- 
merly belonged  to  Judas  Maccabeus.  * 

That  the  Mabinogi  is  not  the  earliest  account  of  the 
Percival  story,  is  also  seen  from  the  fact  that  the  dwarf 
and  dwarfess  salute  Peredur  as  the  glory  of  knight- 
hood, f  Yet  in  the  primitive  version  the  laughing 
at  the  simple-mindedness  of  Percival  must  have  been 
the  main  feature,  as  is  evident  from  the  ancient  pop- 
ular tales  of  that  kind.  In  these  stories  generally  a 
princess  of  great  beauty  appears  so  sad  that  she  will 
neither  laugh  nor  speak,  whereupon  the  king,  her 
father,  promises  her  hand  and  a  part  of  the  kingdom 
to  whosoever  can  make  her  laugh.  The  wisest 
men  of  the  realm  endeavor  in  vain  to  drive  away 
the  gloom  of  the  princess ;  but  the  princess  laughs 
only  when  the  dolt  enters  in  his  ridiculous  costume, 
and  he  obtains  by  his  simplicity  the  hand  of  the 
maiden  and  a  portion  of  the  realm.  If  the  legend 
of  the  Grail  had  been  fully  and  openly  introduced 
into  the  Mabinogi,  it  would  at  once  have  been  evi- 
dent that  the  Welsh  tale  was  derived,  or  at  least 
partly  borrowed,  from  a  foreign  source.  Imaginary 
*  Note  10,  p.  322.  t  p.  311. 


256  THE   GREAT  EPICS  OF 

creations  of  native  origin  and  growth,  as  the  sorcer- 
esses of  Gloucester,  were  connected  with  the  Mabi- 
nogi,  and  an  altogether  strange  and  absurd  version 
of  the  blood-dripping  lance,  the  lame  king,  and  the 
omission  of  the  fatal  question  was  brought  about  in  the 
place  of  the  real  legend  of  the  Grail.  As  Simrock 
says,  "  if  the  sorceresses  of  Gloucester  had  actually 
killed  the  cousin  of  Peredur,  whose  head  lay  on  the 
bloody  salver,  and  had  wounded  his  uncle,  the  lame 
king,  and  if  Peredur  had  been  appointed  to  revenge 
all  these  things,  then  there  existed  no  reason  why  at 
the  very  first  meeting,  even  without  his  asking,  he 
should  not  have  been  informed  of  the  connection  and 
been  urged  to  vengeance,  since  this  takes  place  at  the 
last  meeting  and  without  his  asking  the  question. 
And  how  shall  the  revenge  for  these  things  enable 
the  lame  king  to  regain  his  health  ? "  It  is  probable 
that  the  Mabinogi  of  Peredur  was  composed  during 
the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century,  and  that  its  au- 
thor drew  a  part  of  its  contents  from  a  work  of  one 
of  the  predecessors  of  Chretien.  It  was  no  uncom- 
mon thing  that  Welsh  stories  were  carried  into  other 
parts  of  Europe,  were  there  enlarged  and  changed, 
and  afterwards  brought  back  in  the  new  form  to 
Wales. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  so  little  is  known  of  the  life 
of  Wolfram  von  Eschenbach.  He  was  born  in  the 
second  half  of  the  twelfth  century,  of  a  family  that 
belonged  to  the  lower  nobility  and  took  its  name 
from  the  town  of  Eschenbach,  near  Anebach  in 
Northern  Bavaria.  Being  poor  and  obliged  to  live 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  257 

upon  his  poetic  talent,  he  spent  a  great  portion  of  his 
life  in  wandering  about  as  a  minstrel.  The  year 
1204  he  passed  at  the  court  of  Count  Hermann  of 
Thuringia,  at  the  Wartburg  near  Eisenach,  a  castle 
famous  in  later  times  by  Luther's  sojourn,  and  not 
far  from  Weimar,  the  German  Athens  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century. 

Besides  "Parzival,"  his  greatest  work,  which  was 
probably  composed  between  1200  and  1215,  Wolfram 
is  the  author  of  a  few  lyric  poems  ;  of  " 


a  fragment,  containing  the  love  story  of  Sigune* 
and  Schionatulander  ;  and  of  "  Willebalm."  also  a 
fragment,  celebrating  the  deeds  of  William  of  Orange, 
a  contemporary  of  Karl  the  Great.  The  fame  of 
Wolfram  spread  far  and  wide  in  Germany  during 
his  life,  and  even  long  afterwards  his  memory  was 
held  in  great  honor.  In  the  "  Wartburgkrieg  "  (the 
Contest  at  the  Wartburg)  he  has  become  a  legen- 
dary personage.  A  striking  contrast  to  the  praise 
bestowed  on  Wolfram  by  his  contemporaries  and  suc- 
ceeding generations  is  found  in  the  well-known  judg- 
ment of  Gottfried  von  Strassburg,  the  famous  author 
of  "  Tristan  and  Isold,"  who,  without  naming  Wolfram, 
calls  him  an  inventor  of  strange,  wild  stories,  and 
upbraids  him  for  the  obscurity  and  sombre  earnest- 
ness with  which  his  ideas  are  expressed.  Thus,  al- 
though both  Wolfram  and  Gottfried  took  their  themes 
from  French  versions  of  old  Keltic  traditions,  they 
showed  a  very  great  diversity  in  the  treatment  of 
their  material,  in  language  as  well  as  in  ideas.  Wolf- 

*  The  lady  mentioned  in  "Parzival,"  p.  236. 


258  THE   GREAT  EPICS. 

rain  seemed  to  be  a  censor  of  his  age,  and  to  devote 
all  the  power  of  his  mind  to  the  upholding  of  the 
highest  moral  ideas,  while  Gottfried  was  a  man  of 
the  world,  and  was  fond  of  swimming  with  the  cur- 
rent of  worldly  pleasures  and  delights. 

Wolfram  was  educated,  like  most  noblemen  of  his 
time,  merely  in  what  pertained  to  knightly  warfare. 
Although  he  had  acquired  much  practical  knowledge 
in  his  adventuresome  life,  and  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  astronomy,  natural  history,  and  theology  of 
his  age,  yet  he  himself  admits  that  he  could  neither 
read  nor  write  his  native  tongue,  and  understood 
French  only  when  it  was  spoken.  Therefore  it  is 
so  much  the  more  astonishing  that  he  should  com- 
pose a  poem  like  "  Parzival,"  so  admirable  in  regard 
to  its  technical  forms  and  to  the  ideas  by  which 
he  has  shown  his  originality  and  his  poetic  genius. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
I.  TRISTAN  AND  ISOLD. —  II  IWEIN. 

I.  THE  story  of  Tristan  is  of  Keltic  origin,  and  in 
later  times  entered  into  the  saga  of  Arthur  and  the 
legends  of  the  G-rail,  with  which  primitively  it  had 
no  connection.  It  is  probable  that  a  myth  lies  at 
the  foundation  of  the  traditions  referring  to  Tristan, 
since  even  in  a  comparatively  late  production,  as  in 
our  epic,  there  appear  some  features  reminding  us 
of  a  mythical  origin,  as  the  fight  with  the  dragon, 
the  love-draught,  and  Isold's  magic  art  of  healing. 
Although  some  laudable  efforts  have  been  made  to 
trace  out  and  explain  the  myth  of  Tristan,  little  more 
than  hypotheses  presenting  some  probable  views 
has  as  yet  been  gained.  The  story  of  Tristan  was 
known  in  England  at  an  early  epoch,  and  thence  was 
brought  to  France.  The  famous  Chretien  de  Troyes 
composed  a  poem  on  Tristan,  but  his  work  is  lost. 
The  French  epics  and  traditions  became  known  in 
Germany,  where,  about  the  year  1210,  Gottfried  von 
Strassburg  wrote  the  great  production  which  will  be 
considered  on  the  following  pages. 

Gottfried's  poem  is  divided  into  thirty  sections ; 


260  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

the  first  of  which  forms  an  introduction,  where,  amoncr 

'  '  O 

other  matters,  he  shows  from  what  source  he  derived 
the  material  for  his  subject,  and  what  was  the  princi- 
pal idea  that  guided  him  in  the  composition  of  his 
work. 

Love,  honor,  faith,  and  constant  mood, 

Besides  full  many  another  good, 

Are  never  cherished  anywhere 

So  fondly  and  so  well  as  there 

Where  joy  that  springs  from  love  doth  reign, 

And  love  pours  out  and  feels  her  pain. 

Why  should  a  noble  mind  not  hear 
One  ill  for  thousand  pleasures  fair, 
For  many  joys  some  cause  to  moan  P 
Who  ne'er  of  grief  in  love  has  known, 
Prom  love  no  joy  has  he  gained  ever. 
For  joy  and  grief  withal  can  never 
In  heartfelt  love  be  disunited. 
One  must,  with  each  of  them  delighted, 
Both  fame  and  honor  gain  and  cherish, 
Or  be  without  them  doomed  to  perish. 

Thereupon  the  poet  remarks  that  his  tale  is  destined 
to  afford  pleasure  and  comfort  to  those  who  have  met 
with  sorrow  in  love,  and  that  such  will  delight  in  his 
poem.  The  story  of  Tristan  and  Isold,  and  of  their  dis- 
mal fate,  will  ever  live  in  the  memory  of  noble  souls. 

Rivaling  powerful  vassal  of  Duke  Morgan  of  Brit- 
tany, took  up  arms  against  his  liege  lord  After  the 
war  had  continued  for  some  time,  peace  was  con- 
cluded for  one  year.  Rivalin  intrusted  his  country 
to  the  care  of  the  brave  knight  Euallifoitenant,  and 
went  to  the  court  of  Mark,  the  renowned  king  of 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY. 

Cornwall  and  England,  where  he  was  received  wiii. 
great  honors.  At  a  tournament  held  during  the 
lovely  month  of  May,  he  distinguished  himself  sig- 
nally above  all  the  other  champions,  and  gained  the 
favor  of  the  ladies.  After  the  tournament  was  ended, 
he  saluted  the  beautiful  Bister  of  the  king^  called 
Blanchefleur,  and  soon  a  deep  and  sincere  affection, 
whose  gradual  growth  is  vividly  and  feelingly  de- 
scribed by  our  poet,  united  the  hearts  of  Eivalin  and 
Blanchefleur. 

Afterward  a  hostile  army  entered  the  country  of 
King  Mark,  and  threatened  to  devastate  the  whole 
kingdom.  Eivalin,  who  set  out  with  the  host  of  King 
Mark  to  defend  the  country,  was  very  dangerously 
wounded  in  the  ensuing  battle.  Blanchefleur,  on 
hearing  the  news  of  her  friend's  misfortune,.was  over- 
whelmed with  grief,  and  at  once  departed  in  disguise 
to  the  camp  to  seek  Eivalin.  The  latter  recovered, 
and  both  lived  for  some  time  in  love  and  happiness 
together.  Soon  after,  as  tidings  were  brought  that 
Duke  Morgan  threatened  a  new  war,  Eivalin  returned 
to  his  country  and  took  Blanchefleur  with  him.  On 
the  advice  of  the  faithful  marshal  Eual  they  vvere 
married,  and  Eivalin  left  his  wife  to  +^  care  °*  aP~ 
proved  friends  before  he  went  *»  the  war,  in  which 
he  was  slain.  BUmcliefleur  was  inconsolable  at  the 
loss  of  her  husband,  and  soon  after  bore  a  son  whose 
birth  was  her  death. 

Eual  and  his  wife  pretended  that  the  child  was 
theirs  in  order  to  protect  him  from  Duke  Morgan's 
intrigues. 


THE   GREAT  EPICS   OP 

He  was   christened  "Tristan"  from  the  French 
triste,  —  a  suggestive  name,  denoting  not  only  the  sad- 
ness of  his  parents'  death,  but  his  own  dismal  fate 
thereafter.     Tristan  was  brought  up,  through  the  care 
of  his  foster-father,  in  all  the  arts  and  acquirements 
of  chivalry,  and  came,  after  many  and  various  adven- 
tures, to  the  court  of  King  Mark,  where  afterwards  on 
the  arrival  of  Eual  he  learned  the  name  and  destiny 
of  his  parents.     When  he  had  been  dubbed  knight 
by  the  king,  his  uncle,  he  went  to  his  own  country 
of  which  he  took  possession,  and  then  slew  the  Duke' 
,  Morgan  in  revenge  for  his  father's  death.     Having 
returned  to   Cornwall,   he  heard  that  the  powerful 
Duke  Morold,  in   the   name   of  his   brother-in-law, 
King  Gurmun  of  Ireland,  exacted   the   tribute   for 
Cornwall  and  England,  as  these  countries  had  been 
subject  to   him   during    the   early  youth   of   King 
Mark.     Tristan  charged   the   knights   of   the  latter 
with  cowardice  if  they  should  submit  to  the  condi- 
->f  Morold,  who  demanded  thirty  noble  youths 
Vl1t  as   they  showed  no  courage, 
' 
on  an  i.       *  *'*»  the 


Trista 

for  the  cause  01  tu_  replied,  - 


"  One  boat  is  here  ;  two  men  are  we. 
No  doubt,  I  ween,  can  ever  be, 
If  we  shall  not  together  die, 
That  one  of  us,  be'  t  you  or  I, 


MEDIEVAL  GERMANY.  263 

Must  meet  his  death  and  overthrow. 
For  him  who  triumphs  o'er  his  foe 
The  boat  suffices  that  erewhile 
Ha%  borne  thee  hither  to  this  isle." 

Morold  attempted  to  avoid  the  combat  on  condition 
that  the  tribute  should  be  paid.    He  said  to  Tristan: 

"  Methinks  for  thee  't  were  fortunate. 

Forsooth,  I  grieve  much  at  thy  fate, 

That  I  shall  slay  thee  in  this  fight ; 

I  never  have  beheld  a  knight 

With  whom  I  have  "been  pleased  so  well." 

To  him  Tristan  commenced  to  tell : 
"  No  tribute  shall  henceforth  be  paid, 
Or  else  no  peace  can  now  be  made." 

The  combat  began,  and  great  was  the  bravery  dis- 
played by  the  two  champions. 

Sir  Morold  rode  upon  his  steed, 
And  flew  against  Tristan  with  speed 
Still  greater  than  is  falcons'  flight ; 
But  warlike  too  was  Tristan's  might. 

After  some  time  Tristan  was  wounded  by  his  ad- 
versary's poisoned  sword,  and  Morold  told  him  that 
no  one  on  earth  could  cure  his  wound  save  his  sister 
Isold,  Queen  of  Ireland.  Morold  proposed  peace  and1" 
friendship  with  Tristan  if  the  tribute  should  be  given, 
but  Tristan  refused  to  agree  to  his  demands,  and 
said  that  on  account  of  a  single  wound  the  combat, 
was  not  decided.  The  fight  was  renewed,  and  after 
a  fierce  struggle  Morold  was  slain  by  Tristan's  sword, 
a  small  piece  of  which  remained  in  Morold's  head. 


264  THE  GREAT   EPICS   OF 

Tristan  sailed  back  in  Morold's  boat  to  his  uncle's 
friends,  among  whom  he  was  joyfully  received,  while 
the  people  of  Morold  returned  with  tjie  corpse  of 
their  leader  to  King  Gurmun.  There  Morold's  sis- 
ter  Isold  and  her  daughter,  also  named  Isold,  were 
overwhelmed  with  grief;  at  the  king's  command 
every  one  who  came  from  Cornwall  to  Ireland  was 
doomed  to  forfeit  his  life.  The  piece  from  the  sword 
found  in  Morold's  head  was  carefully  preserved. 

As  Tristan's  wound  could  not  be  healed  by  any 
physician,  the  hero  decided  to  go  in  disguise  to  Ireland 
to  see  the  queen  Isold.  With  King  Mark's  consent  the 
report  was  spread  that  Tristan  would  depart  to  Salerno 
in  order  to  get  cured,  but  he  had  sailed  to  Ireland, 
where  he  arrived  after  some  time.  By  various  strata- 
gems,  and  especially  by  his  great  skill  in  playing  the 
harp,  he  succeeded  in  coming  into  the  presence  of  the 
queen.  Every  one  pitied  the  sick  harper,  and  the 
queen,  delighted  with  his  playing,  offered  to  cure  him. 
He  called  himself  Tantris;  and,  to  recompense  the 
queen,  he  instructed  her  daughter,  young  Isold,  in  the 
languages  and  in  playing  the  harp.  His  wound 
was  healed  after  twenty  days ;  yet  the  queen  would 
not  let  him  depart  until  he  pretended  that  he  was 
married,  and  that  his  wife  might  believe  him  dead  if 
he  did  not  return  soon. 

Tristan,  having  returned  to  the  court  of  his  uncle, 
greatly  praised  the  beauty  of  young  Isold.  As  he 
had  succeeded  in  a  most  dangerous  enterprise,  many 
courtiers  and  powerful  vassals  of  the  land  were  filled 
with  envy  of  the  noble  hero,  and  sought  his  destruction. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  265 

They  requested  King  Mark  to  marry,  so  that  he 
might  have  an  heir  to  his  throne.  When  the  king 
refused  to  comply  with  their  demands,  and  told  them 
that  Tristan  should  be  his  heir,  their  jealousy  and 
hatred  became  so  great  that  Tristan  feared  for  his  life 
and  was  determined  to  leave  the  court.  At  an  as- 
sembly of  the  nobles  it  was  decided  that  the  king 
should  marry  the  beautiful  Isold,  and  that  Tristan 
should  sail  to  Ireland,  as  the  messenger  of  the  king, 
to  woo  the  princess  for  his  lord.  The  king,  through 
sincere  friendship  for  his  nephew  and  fearing  the 
hate  of  Curmun,  reluctantly  agreed  to  this  propo- 
sal, and  Tristan  departed,  taking  with  him,  much 
against  their  will,  twenty  of  the  vassals  who  were  his 
enemies. 

Tristan  succeeded  in  landing  safely  on  the  coast  of 
Ireland  near  the  royal  residence.  At  that  time  the 
people  of  the  land  were  greatly  harassed  by  the 
devastations  of  a  huge  dragon,  and  the  king  had 
promised  the  hand  of  his  daughter  to  the  knight  who 
would  slay  the  monster.  Many  nobles,  from  love  of 
fair  Isold,  had  ventured  to  meet  the  dragon,  but  were 
killed  by  it.  Thus  the  whole  country  was  aroused, 
and  Tristan,  who  knew  about  the  strange  adven- 
ture and  the  king's  promise,  was  encouraged  in  his 
plans.  On  the  day  following  his  arrival,  he  went  in 
quest  of  the  dragon,  and  when  he  came  near  its  den, 
he  saw  four  knights  fleeing  from  it  in  haste  and 
terror.  One  of  them  was  the  seneschal  of  the  queen, 
a  coward,  who  was  deeply  in  love  with  young  Isold. 
Tristan,  after  a  dangerous  and  bloody  combat,  slew 


266  THE   GREAT   EPICS  OF 

the  dragon,  cut  out  its  tongue,  and  placed  it  near  his 
heart.  Wearied  by  the  long  contest  and  the  glowing 
heat  that  came  from  the  dragon's  jaws,  he  sought 
a  resting-place  near  a  cool  spring,  but,  stupefied  by 
the  vapor  arising  from  the  monster's  tongue,  fell  down 
unconscious. 

At  the  same  time  the  seneschal  had  heard  the 
roaring  of  the  dragon,  and,  supposing  the  latter  to  be 
dead,  he  went  back.  Although  filled  with  great  fear 
at  the  sight  of  the  dead  body,  he  at  last  mustered 
courage  enough  to  thrust  his  spear  into  its  jaws. 
Then  he  rode  to  the  royal  palace,  announced  himself 
as  the  slayer  of  the  dragon,  and  reminded  the  king  of 
his  promise.  Isold  hated  the  seneschal ;  but,  to  her 
comfort,  her  mother  prophesied  that  another  had  ac- 
complished the  deed.  Afterward  the  ladies  rode  to  the 
former  hiding-place  of  the  dragon,  and  soon  found  the 
knight.  The  monster's  tongue  was  taken  away  from 
him,  whereupon  he  revived,  and  young  Isold  became 
aware  that  it  was  the  same  personage  as  the  harper 
Tantris.  He  was  kindly  cared  for  by  the  ladies,  and 
declared  himself  ready  to  fight  with  the  seneschal. 
Young  Isold  was  charmed  with  the  noble  appearance 
of  the  knight,  and  wondered  why  such  a  man  should 
not  be  the  ruler  of  a  mighty  realm.  After  his 
weapons  had  been  cleaned  and  polished,  the  princess 
secretly  went  to  the  place  where  they  were  displayed* 
and  happened  to  draw  his  sword.  She  gazed  on  it 
for  a  long  time,  and  saw  that  a  small  piece  of  it  was 
gone.  In  amazement  and  with  feelings  of  dire  fore- 
boding she  sought  the  splinter  that  was  found  in 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  267 

Morold's  head,  and  discovered  that  it  fitted  exactly 
into  the  knight's  sword. 

Then  all  at  once  her  heart  grew  cold 
In  thinking  of  that  deed  of  old. 
Her  color  changed  through  grief  and  ire 
From  deadly  pale  to  glowing  fire. 
With  sorrow  she  exclaimed  :  "  Alas  ! 
Oh,  woe  !  What  has  now  come  to  pass  ? 
Who  carried  here  this  weapon  dread, 
By  which  mine  uncle  was  struck  dead  ? 
And  he  who  slew  him,  Tristan  hight. 
Who  gave  it  to  this  minstrel-knight  ?  " 

After  some  pondering  on  the  matter  she  perceived 
that  the  names  of  Tristan  and  Tantris,  by  changing 
the  order  of  the  syllables,  were  the  same.  Teeming 
with  desires  of  revenge,  she  rushed  on  Tristan,  with 
intent  to  kill  him.  Her  mother  intervened,  and  Tris- 
tan told  them  that  if  they  should  give  up  their 
hatred,  he  would  announce  to  them  some  tidings  of 
great  import.  At  the  advice  of  Brajigane,  -a~ee»*t 
lady  in  the  confidence  of  the  queen,  a  reconciliation 
was  brought  about,  and  Tristan  communicated  King 
Mark's  proposal  to  wed  fair  Isold  to  King  Gurmun, 
who  agreed  to  it.  The  seneschal  continued  for  a 
time  in  his  pretence  of  having  slain  the  dragon,  but 
he  was  put  to  shame  and  confusion  before  the  whole 
court  when  Tristan  showed  the  tongue  of  the  mon- 
ster. Tristan  offered  to  enter  the  lists  against  the 
seneschal,  but  the  latter  withdrew  in  a  cowardly  fash- 
ion and  thus  became  the  sport  of  the  courtiers. 

While  the  necessary  arrangements  were  made  for 


268  THE  GREAT   EPICS   OP 

the  voyage  to  King  Mark's  country,  the  queen  pre- 
pared a  love-draught  and  intrusted  the  glass  in  which 
it  was  contained  to  Brangane,  who  was  to  accompany 
young  Isold  to  her  new  home.  By  the  order  of  the 
queen  the  draught  was  to  be  given  to  Mark  and 
Isold.  The  latter  was  deeply  saddened  when  she 
came  to  bid  farewell  to  her  parents  and  friends.  On 
the  voyage  Tristan  sought  to  console  her,  but  she  re- 
buked him  as  the  cause  of  her  sorrows  and  particu- 
larly as  the  slayer  of  Morold.  As  Isold  and  her 
ladies,  not  accustomed  to  long  voyages,  were  soon 
fatigued,  Tristan  commanded  the  crew  to  sail  towards 
the  land  and  cast  anchor  near  the  coast.  While 
some  of  the  men  went  on  shore,  Tristan  approached 
Isold  and  entered  into  conversation  with  her.  He 
called  for  wine,  and  a  maiden,  attending  on  the  prin- 
cess, brought  him  a  glass,  thinking  that  it  contained 
the  desired  potion. 

Although  like  wine  it  might  appear, 
It  was  unceasing  sorrow  drear, 
Of  heartfelt  pain  the  endless  growth, 
Which  at  the  end  brought  death  to  both. 
Of  this  the  maid  knew  naught  whate'er 
She  rose  and  speedily  went  there 
Where  in  a  glass  the  fatal  draught 
Was  kept  concealed,  not  to  be  quaffed. 
To  Tristan  first  she  passed  the  same ; 
He  gave  it  to  the  royal  dame. 
Thereof  she  drank  reluctantly, 
Gave  it  to  him,  and  then  drank  he ; 
That  wine  it  was,  they  both  believed. 
Then  came  Brangane,  who  perceived 
And  recognized  at  once  the  glass ; 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  269 

She  well  saw  what  had  come  to  pass. 
Thereon  she  felt  such  dire  dismay 
That  all  her  strength  was  giving  way, 
And  she  appeared  as  are  the  dead;. 
Her  heart  was  filled  with  mortal  dread. 
She  seized  the  baleful  glass  she  knew, 
And  bore  it  hence  away,  and  threw 
It  in  the  wildly  raging  sea. 
"  Oh,  woe  1 "  she  spoke,  "  Oh,  woe  is  me, 
That  in  this  world  I  e'er  was  born, 
I,  wretched  one  !     Now  I  am  shorn 
Of  troth  and  honor  which  were  mine. 
Have  pity  on  me,  Lord  divine ; 
Oh  that  I  came  unto  this  shore 
And  death  took  me  not  hence  before, 
That  with  Isold  my  lot  was  e'er 
This  fatal  enterprise  to  share  ! 
Oh,  woe,  Isold  !  Woe,  Tristan,  too  ! 
The  draught  is  death  to  both  of  you." 

A  sudden  and  glowing  love  took  possession  of 
Tristan  and  Isold.  In  the  beginning,  while  they 
thought  of  the  honor  due  to  King  Mark,  they  endeav- 
ored to  struggle  against  the  all-absorbing  passion,  but 
soon  they  declared  their  sentiments  to  each  other. 
Brangane  became  aware  of  their  intimacy,  and  when 
she  questioned  them,  Tristan  confessed  that  he  and 
Isold  were  united  by  an  intense  and  mutual  love. 
Afterwards  Brangane  told  them  of  the  love-draught, 
and  that  it  would  be  their  death.  Tristan  replied,  — 

"If  Dame  Isold,  the  fair, 
Should  be  my  death  fore'er, 
Then  I  would  fain  be  sighing 
For  an  eternal  dying." 


270  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

All  were  rejoiced  when  after  some  time  they  came 
near  the  coast  of  Cornwall;  but  Tristan  and  Isold, 
who  had  begun  to  live  as  husband  and  wife,  were 
filled  with  sorrow  and  anxiety.  Isold  was  received 
with  great  honors  in  the  land  of  King  Mark,  and  the 
wedding  feast  was  celebrated  with  much  splendor. 
The  fame  of  the  young  queen's  marvellous  beauty  was 
spread  far  and  wide.  Brangane  knew  well  that,  by 
her  inattention  to  the  trust  which  Isold's  mother  had 
bestowed  on  her,  she  had  caused  the  guilt  of  Tristan 
and  Isold,  and  thus  she  favored  the  secret  interviews 
and  intimacies  between  the  lovers.  She  aided  them 
to  deceive  the  king,  even  by  sacrificing  her  own  per- 
sonal honor.  As  the  betrayal  of  the  king  by  his  wife 
and  nephew  was  unknown  to  all,  Isold  was  held  in 
great  honor  by  the  court  and  the  people,  and  Tristan 
was  renowned  for  his  valor  throughout  the  kingdom. 

For  some  time  the  affection  that  seemed  to  exist 
between  Tristan  and  Isold  was  explained  at  court  on 
the  ground  that  they  were  near  relatives,  and  nothing 
was  suspected.  However  the  seneschal  Marjodo, 
Tristan's  roommate,  discovered  one  night  that  Tristan 
had  left  the  room.  He  arose  and,  following  Tristan's 
footsteps,  came  to  the  apartment  of  the  queen,  where 
he  beheld  the  two  lovers.  Marjodo,  who  loved  the 
queen,  was  filled  with  envy  of  Tristan,  and  told  the 
king  that  there  was  a  rumor  at  court  in  regard  to 
his  wife  and  his  nephew;  yet  he  did  not  say  that 
he  had  convinced  himself  of  their  infidelity.  Hence- 
forth there  began  a  series  of  plots  and  counterplots  on 
the  part  of  the  king  on  one  side  and  of  Tristan  and 


MEDIEVAL   GERMANY.  271 

Isold  on  the  other.  The  king's  suspicion  was  often 
aroused,  and  he  would  become  nearly  certain  of  their 
guilt,  while  again  at  other  times,  by  Isold's  cunning, 
which  was  aided  by  Brangane's  crafty  counsels,  he 
could  not  help  believing  in  his  wife's  innocence.  In 
this  manner  it  went  on  for  a  long  period,  the  king 
being  tossed  about  between  doubts  and  suspicions. 
Mai j odo  frnd-Jftfl  dwarf  Mp.lnf.  were  the  spies  that 
closely  watched  the  doings  of  the  lovers,  and  reported 
them  to  the  king. 

Among  the  many  incidents  occiirring  during  that 
time  the  following  may  be  mentioned.  At  the  ad- 
vice of  an  old  and  revered  bishop,  the  king  demanded 
that  Isold  should  appear  before  the  council  of  the 
nobles  of  the  land,  and  there  he  required  that,  to 
prove  her  innocence,  she  should  undergo  the  ordeal 
by  fire.  The  queen  assented,  and  the  time  for  the 
ordeal  to  take  place  was  appointed  six  weeks  thence. 
In  the  meanwhile  Isold  was  filled  with  gloomy 
apprehensions,  and  wrote  to  Tristan  to  appear  by  all 
means  on  the  day  of  the  trial.  Tristan  obeyed  her 
and  came  in  the  garb  of  a  pilgrim,  and  with  his  face 
disguised  so  that  no  one  except  Isold  could  recognize 
him.  When  she  beheld  him,  she  begged  that  the 
pilgrim  might  be  permitted  to  carry  her  from  the 
bridge  through  the  water  to  the  shore.  In  her 
feigned  humility  she  pretended  that  she  would  not 
be  borne  by  any  knight.  Her  demand  was  granted, 
and  on  the  way  the  queen  whispered  to  Tristan  that 
when  near  the  land,  he  should  fall  as  if  by  chance. 
He  did  so,  and  in  such  a  manner  that  he  fell  down 


272  THE   GREAT 'EPICS   OF 

by  the  side  of  Isold.  The  attendants  of  the  queen 
hastened  to  punish  the  pilgrim  for  his  awkwardness, 
but  Isold  told  them  to  abstain  from  their  intentions, 
as  the  pilgrim  was  weak  and  sick  and  had  fallen 
against  his  will.  After  the  royal  party  had  arrived 
at  the  place  where  the  ordeal  was  to  be  held,  the 
queen,  in  presence  of  the  king,  the  nobles,  and  prelates 
of  the  realm,  took  the  oath  that  no  man  had  ever  lain 
by  her  side__jaj£_JJi£L_king  and  that  poor  pilgrim. 
The  king  was  satisfied  with  this  declaration,  and 
Isold  took  the  glowing  iron  into  her  hand.  She  was 
not  burned  by  it,  and  the  king's  suspicions  vanished. 

Nevertheless  the  king  soon  became  aware  that 
his  wife  loved  his  nephew,  and  he  banished  both  of 
them  from  the  court.  They  went  into  the  wilder- 
ness, and  there  in  a  grotto,  which  had  been  built  by 
the  giants  of  old,  and  was  beautifully  ornamented, 
they  passed  many  days  together  in  great  happiness. 
Their  abode  was  surrounded  by  trees,  and  a  cool  well 
was  near  by,  while  they  were  delighted  by  the  song 
of  the  birds  in  the  wood.  At  one  time  the  king,  hav- 
ing gone  to  hunt  in  the  forest,  happened  to  come  to 
the  grotto,  where  he  beheld  Tristan  and  Isold  sleep- 
ing, yet  he  saw  a  drawn  sword  placed  between  them. 
Doubts  arose  again  in  the  mind  of  the  king,  while 
at  the  same  time  his  heart  was  filled  anew  with  love 
of  Isold.  At  the  advice  of  his  counsellors  the  king 
sent  a  messenger  to  Tristan  and  Isold,  and  bade  them 
return  to  the  court. 

Yet  only  a  short  time  elapsed  before  the  king  was 
finally  and  fully  convinced  that  they  were  betraying 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  273 

him.  The  two  lovers,  teeming  with  sadness,  took  leave 
of  each  other,  and  Isold  gave  Tristan  a  ring  to  remind 
him  of  his  fidelity  to  her.  After  many  adventures 
in  foreign  lands,  Tristan,  to  forget  his  pain  in  being 
separated  from  Isold,  took  part  in  a  war  which  his 
friend  Kaedin  waged  against  his  enemies.  Kaedin 
and  Tristan  defeated  their  foes,  and  Tristan  on  ac- 
count of  his  matchless  bravery  was  held  in  great 
esteem  by  all,  and  especially  at  the  court  of  his 
friend.  Kaedin  had  a  beautiful  sister,  called  Isold 
with  the  White  Hands,  and  her  name  constantly 
reminded  Tristan  of  his  love,  the  blond  Isold,  the 
wife  of  his  uncle.  Isold  with  the  White  Hands 
and  Tristan  soon  loved  each  other,  yet  Tristan 
in  lonely  hours  accused  himself  of  his  infidelity 
towards  the  blond  Isold.  However,  he  did  not 
shun  the  presence  of  Kaedin's  sister,  although  his 
heart  was  torn  by  the  struggle  between  his  former 
love  and  the  new  affection.  He  tried  to  persuade 
himself  that  the  blond  Isold  did  not  love  him  any 
more,  while  he  for  her  sake  avoided  the  society 
of  other  ladies,  and  was  deprived  of  all  joys  and 
pleasures. 

Here   Gottfried's   poem   breaks   off.     Ulrich  von  f 
Tiirheim  and  Heinrich  von  Freiberg  wrote  continua-j 
tions  of  Gottfried's  work.     The  poem  of  Ulrich  was 
composed  about  the  year  1240,  and  has  little  merit. 
Heinrich's  production,  written  about  the  year  1300, 
although  on  the  whole  inferior  to  the  model,  is  a  fine 
poem,  and  in  many  parts  a  wonderful  imitation  of 
the  master's  genius.     Gottfried's   Tristan  has  been 


274  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

translated  and  continued  by  Karl  Simrock  and  Her- 
mann Kurz.  Although  there  is  a  great  diversity  in 
the  treatment  of  many  details,  both  among  the  old  and 
modern  continuators,  they  all  agree  as  to  the  general 
features  of  the  end  of  the  story.  Tristan,  dangerously 
wounded,  sent  for  his  blond  Isold,  who  alone  could 
cure  his  wound.  The  understanding  was  that  if  his 
beloved  Isold  would  come,  a  white  sail  or  flag  should 
be  hoisted  on  the  vessel  that  bore  her,  but  if  the  ship 
should  return  without  her,  a  black  sail.  Blond  Isold 
hastened  to  come  to  the  succor  of  her  friend,  and  a 
white  sail  appeared,  on  the  waves ;  but  when  Tristan 
asked  Isold  with  the  White  Hands,  who  in  the  eyes 
of  the  world  seemed  to  be  his  wife,  what  she  per- 
ceived on  the  sea,  filled  with  jealousy,  she  answered, 
"Black  is  the  sail."  Tristan  at  once  died  broken- 
hearted, and  blond  Isold,  who  arrived  soon  after,  fell 
dead  to  the  ground  by  the  side  of  Tristan's  corpse. 
When  King  Mark  came  to  the  place  and  was  apprised 
of  the  fatal  potion  that  irresistibly  had  united  the 
hearts  of  the  two  lovers,  he  pitied  their  fate,  and 
exclaimed  that  if  he  had  known  this,  he  would  fain 
have  rendered  them  happy.  A  grape-vine  was  planted 
on  Isold's  grave  and  a  rose-bush  on  that  of  Tristan. 
The  vine  and  the  rose-bush  grew  together  and  lov- 
ingly intertwined.* 

Among  all  nations,  and  wellnigh  at  all  times,  we 
meet  with  stories  similar  to  that  of  Tristan  and  Isold. 
It  will  suffice  here  to  refer  to  the  tales  of  Borneo 
and  Juliet,  Pyramus  and  Thisbe,  and  Hero  and  Lean- 
der.  Pyramus  stabs  himself  on  account  of  the  sup- 

*  See  Note  11,  p.  323. 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  275 

posed  death  of  Thisbe ;  and  Eomeo,  thinking  Juliet 
to  be  dead,  drinks  the  poison.  By  a  somewhat  simi- 
lar error  Tristan  dies,  and  his  death  causes  the  death 
of  Isold.  At  first  sight  it  seems  hardly  fair  to  com- 
pare Shakespeare's  Juliet  with  Isold,  the  wife  of  King 
Mark.  Yet  if  we  disregard  for  a  moment  the  strik- 
ing and  incompatible  differences  between  the  two 
heroines,  there  is  one  characteristic,  common  to  both 
of  them  :  they  are  not  merely  loving  women,  capable 
of  any  sacrifice  for  the  object  of  their  affection ;  but 
Juliet  as  well  as  Isold  is  love  itself ;  both  have  no 
existence  out  of  their  passion,  and  love  is  the  only 
sphere  in  which  they  move.  The  guilt  of  Tristan 
and  Isold  is  extenuated  by  the  magic  potion  which 
destroyed  their  free  will  and  made  them  blind  tools 
of  fate.  In  this  connection  we  may  quote  Bayard 
Taylor's  remarks  referring  to  Tennyson's  treatment 
of  the  subject.  The  famous  translator  of  Goethe's 
"  Faust "  says  :  *  "If  you  are  familiar  with  Tenny- 
son's poem  of  '  The  Last  Tournament '  in  his  '  Idylls 
of  the  King,'  I  beg  you  to  notice  the  violence  he  has 
done  to  the  original  legend.  He*  quite  omits  the 
episode  of  the  magic  love-potion,  and  presents  Tristan 
and  Iseult  to  us  as  a  pair  of  common  sinners.  It  is 
this  very  magic  spell  —  the  equivalent  of  the  Fate  of 
the  Greek  tragedies  —  which  moves  our  deepest  sym- 
pathies, and  ennobles  the  two  characters.  Tristan 
cannot  escape  his  devotion,  in  the  legend ;  he  is 
made  faithful  by  a  fatal  spell ;  but  Tennyson  makes 
him  sing,  — 

*  Studies  in  German  Literature,  p.  86. 


276  THE   GREAT   EPICS   OF 

Tree  love,  free  field;  we  love  but  while  we  may!'" 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  Simrock  is  right  when  he 
says  that  a  certain  scene  in  Gottfried's  poem  is  prob- 
ably an  interpolation.  If  so,  then  Gottfried  de- 
serves also,  from  a  moral  point  of  view,  the  approbation 
of  his  modern  admirers  in  a  higher  degree  than  could 
otherwise  be  bestowed  on  him.  As  then  there  is  no 
evidence  of  any  real  marriage  between  Mark  and 
Isold,  the  relation  between  the  two  lovers  appears 
somewhat  less  offensive,  while  it  must  also  be  said 
that  Tristan  and  Isold  with  the  White  Hands  are  only 
apparently  married.  It  is  likewise  to  be  hoped  that 
Gottfried,  if  he  had  finished  his  work,  might  have 
concluded  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  that  mere 
worldly  love  was  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  Christian- 
ity and  to  the  highest  ideal  of  chivalry,  yet  there  are 
but  few  indications  in  the  poem  that  such  was  the 
intention  of  its  author.  But  Gottfried  did  not  invent 
the  story  of  Tristan  and  Isold ;  on  the  contrary,  it  was 
well  known  in  his  time,  and  in  a  merely  poetic  sense 
formed  one  of  the  most  beautiful  legends  of  Medi- 
aeval Europe.  He  permeated  the  material  which  his 
predecessors  had  left  him  with  a  new  life  and  spirit. 
He  is  undoubtedly  a  master  of  the  language,  and  his 
versification  and  style  are  models  of  genuine  artistic 
skill.  In  this  place  we  may  again  quote  Bayard  Tay- 
lor,* who,  although  he  does  not  express  any  original 
idea,  yet  refers  to  Gottfried's  poetic  gifts  and  to  the 
difference  between  Wolfram  and  Gottfried  in  very 
appropriate  and  well-chosen  words :  "  Gottfried  von 
Studies  in  German  Literature,  pp.  86,  87. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  277 

Strassburg  certainly  possesses  in  a  very  high  degree 
the  talent  of  poetic  narrative.  We  may  tire  of  his 
interminable  details  when  reading  several  books  of 
'  Tristan '  connectedly ;  but  we  may  open  the  work 
anywhere,  and  we  strike  at  once  upon  life,  movement, 
and  brightness.  The  uniformity  of  the  short  iambic 
measure,  which  allows  little  variety  of  cadence,  is 
not  favorable  to  a  long  epic  poem ;  but  the  authors 
of  that  age  seem  to  have  known  only  this  measure 
and  a  rather  rough  alexandrine.  The  iambic  pen- 
tameter appears  in  their  lyrics,  and  moves  with  both 
sweetness  and  dignity ;  yet  it  never  occurred  to  them 
to  use  it  in  narrative  poetry.  .  .  .  Wolfram's  adher- 
ents would  be  among  the  thinkers,  who  were  then 
rapidly  increasing  in  number;  Gottfried's,  among 
the  men  of  refinement  and  education.  The  latter 
may  be  called  the  literary  ancestor  of  Wieland,  but 
Wolfram's  lineal  descendant,  with  a  long  line  of 
generations  between,  was  Goethe."  Gottfried's  in- 
fluence on  the  succeeding  generations  of  poets  and 
poetic  narrators  was  very  great,  and  extended  to  the 
middle  of  the  fourteenth  century.  It  has  been  truly 
said  of  him  that  he  founded  a  school,  and  that  his 
admirers  were  also  his  imitators.  Among  them  we 
may  mention  Konrad  von  Wiirzburg,  who  was  a  man 
of  great  learning  and  a  poet  of  no  mean  talent,  but 
whose  productions  cannot  be  ranked  among  the  great 
epics  of  Mediaeval  Germany.  Konrad,  who  died  in 
1287,  composed  an  heroic  poem,  entitled  "  Der  trojan- 
ische  Krieg "  (The  War  of  Troy),  of  about  60,000 
lines.  The  work  was  not  finished  by  him,  but  by  an 


278  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

unknown  author.  It  begins  by  relating  the  events 
before  the  birth  of  Paris,  and  in  the  combats  appear 
Russians,  Danes,  Hungarians,  and  Germans,  —  the  lat- 
ter the  bravest  of  all,  • —  to  aid  the  cause  of  the  Greeks, 
while  the  Pagans  and  Mohammedans  fight  for  Troy. 

Before  Gottfried's  time  the  subject  of  his  epic  had 
been  treated  by  a  German  poet,  Eilhart  von  Oberge, 
a  Saxon  knight  and  a  vassal  of  the  great  Henry  the 
Lion,  the  contemporary  and  liegeman  of  Frederick 
Barbarossa.  Eilhart's  poem,  called  "Tristan,"  was 
composed  about  the  year  1170;  its  language  is  not 
the  Low  German,  as  has  been  stated  by  some  writers, 
but  the  so-called  Middle  German,  that  is,  the  High 
German  idiom  spoken  in  Central  Germany.  It  is 
probable  that  Eilhart's  epic  is  based  on  a  French 
work,  since  it  agrees  upon  the  whole  with  the  tradi- 
tion that  is  represented  in  the  French  poem  of  Berox. 
According  to  Jacob  Grimm,*  the  legend  as  it  appears 
in  Eilhart's  production  seems  to  be  nearer  its  an- 
cient formation  than  it  is  in  Gottfried's  poem. 

It  is  not  certain  what  was  the  direct  source  from 
which  Gottfried  derived  the  material  for  his  epic. 
The  work  of  Thomas  von  Britannie,  which  he 
mentions  as  his  authority,  has  not  been  found,  while 
the  English  poem  "  Sir  Tristrem,"  in  which  reference 
is  made  to  Thomas  of  Erceldonne,  for  many  reasons 
cannot  be  the  source  of  Gottfried's  production.  On 
the  other  hand,  as  Chretien's  epic  of  Tristan  has 
been  lost,  and  as  Gottfried  expressly  names  Thomas 
von  Britannie  as  his  source,  there  are  only  two 

*  Gottinger  Gelehrte  Anzeigen,  1835,  p.  662. 


MEDIEVAL    GERMANY.  279 

French  poems  that  can  be  considered  here.  Both 
exist  only  in  fragments.  One  of  them,  that  of 
Berox,  has  just  been  mentioned  in  its  relation  to 
Eilhart ;  the  other  *  refers  to  a  Thomas,  but  it  can 
be  compared  with  Gottfried's  epic  only  to  a  very  lim- 
ited extent,  as  it  begins  about  where  Gottfried's  work 
breaks  off.  Yet  the  able  French  scholar,  A.  Bossert, 
compared  the  fragments  of  Thomas  with  the  end  of 
Gottfried's  Tristan,  and  discovered  that  a  small  por- 
tion of  the  text  was  indeed  nearly  alike  in  both  of 
them.f  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  said  that  the 
fragment  of  the  French  Thomas  agrees  upon  the 
whole  with  the  last  part  of  the  English  poem  "  Sir 
Tristrem."  Although  no  conclusive  evidence  as  to 
Gottfried's  source  can  be  established  from  an  exam- 
ination of  the  above-named  works,  yet  at  all  events 
it  is  certain  that  Gottfried's  Tristan  is  not  the  pro- 
duction of  a  translator,  but  the  masterpiece  of  a  real 
poet. 

Unfortunately  but  little  is  known  of  Gottfried's 
life  ;  there  is,  however,  hardly  any  doubt  that  he  was 
born  in  the  city  after  which  he  is  named.  He  was  a 
contemporary  of  Wolfram  von  Eschenbach  and  Hart- 
mann  von  Aue,  and  perhaps  a  personal  friend  of  the 
latter.  Gottfried  was  also  the  author  of  a  few  lyric 

*  Cf.  Tristan.  Recueil  de  ce  qui  reste  de  poemes  relatifs  a  ses 
aventures,  composes  en  fra^ais,  en  anglo-normand  et  en  grec  dans 
les  XII.  et  XIII.  siecles,  public*  par  Francisque  Michel.  Londres, 
I.,  II.,  1835  ;  III.,  1839. 

t  Tristan  et  Iseult,  poeme  de  Gotfrit  de  Strasbourg  compare1  & 
d'autres  poemes  sur  le  meme  sujet.  These  presentee  a  la  faculte"  des 
lettres  de  Paris  par  A.  Bossert.  Paris,  Frauck,  1865. 


280  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

poems  ;  it  seems,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Ulrich 
von  Turheim  and  Heinrich  von  Freiberg,*  that  death 
alone  prevented  the  great  master  from  finishing  his 
work.  He  died  in  the  prime  of  manhood,  not  long 
after  the  year  1210.  Although  not  of  noble  birth,  he 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  life  of  the  aristocracy 
of  his  time,  and  rilled  with  a  noble  enthusiasm  for 
chivalric  and  courtly  customs  and  manners.  His 
Tristan  was  read  particularly  by  the  higher  classes 
of  Mediaeval  German  society,  and  many  are  the 
manuscripts  of  the  work  that  have  been  preserved, 
among  which  are  six  complete  ones  written  on  parch- 
ment. Besides  the  modern  German  translations  and 
continuations  by  K.  Simrock  and  H.  Kurz  which 
have  been  mentioned,!  we  must  refer  here  to  the 
grand  epic  reproduction  of  the  legend  by  K.  L.  Immer- 
mann  (who  died  at  Diisseldorf  in  1 840)  and  to  Matthew 
Arnold's  famous  poem  "  Tristram  and  Iseult."  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the  subject  has  also  been 
immortalized  by  the  genius  of  Eichard  Wagner. 

II.  Hartmann  von  Aue  composed  four  epics,  two 
of  which,  "  Erek  "  and  "  Iwein,"  belong  to  the.  saga- 
cycle  of  King  Arthur  and  the  Eound  Table.  The 
story  of  Erek,  which  Hartmann  took  from  Chretien  de 
Troyes,  is  nearly  the  same  as  in  Tennyson's  "  Enid  " 
in  the  "  Idylls  of  the  King ; "  but  in  the  latter  the 
name  of  Enid's  husband  is  Geraint,  and  not  Erek.  J 
From  a  comparison  of  Hartmann's  "  Erek  "  with  his 

*  p.  273.  t  p.  274. 

$  Cf.  also  the  Mabinogi  of  Geraint,  the  son  of  Erbin,  translated 
by  Lady  Charlotte  Guest. 


MEDLEVAL   GERMANY.  281 

other  works,  and  especially  with  his  "  Iwein,"  it  is 
evident  that  he  wrote  the  first-named  epic  while  he 
was  very  young.  The  poem  is  certainly  not  devoid 
of  some  beautiful  passages,  yet  a  great  part  of  it  is 
tiresome  reading  on  account  of  the  lengthy  and  dif- 
fuse narration  of  unimportant  matters  ;  for  instance, 
about  five  hundred  lines  are  devoted  to  the  descrip- 
tion of  a  horse.  Moreover,  the  language  is  not  so 
perfect  and  the  verse  is  not  so  carefully  constructed 
as  in  some  of  his  later  works. 

If  any  one  of  Hartmann's  productions  can  be 
ranked  among  the  great  epics  of  Mediaeval  Germany, 
it  must  be  "  Iwein."  or  "  Per  Bitter  mit  dem  Lovven." 
The  subject  is  taken  from  the  "  Chevalier  au  Lion " 
of  Chretien  de  Troyes,*  and  the  contents  of  Hart- 
mann's poem  are  briefly  as  follows.  King  Arthur 
celebrated  a  great  festival  at  Pentecost,  and  many 
knights  and  noble  ladies  were  assembled  at  his  court. 
In  the  evening  a  knight,  a  relative  of  Iwein,  related 
that  about  ten  years  before  he  traversed  a  vast  forest 
and  afterwards  came  to  a  glade.  There  he  saw  many 
wild  animals,  and  among  them  stood  a  man  of  huge  stat- 
ure and  of  terrible  aspect  whom  the  animals  obeyed. 
When  the  knight  said  that  he  had  departed  in  quest 
of  adventures,  the  man  told  him  to  go  to  a  fountain 
which  was  a  few  miles  distant.  By  the  side  of  the 
fountain  there  was  a  marble  slab,  over  which  a  golden 

*  Cf.  also  the  Mabinogi  of  the  Lady  of  the  Fountain,  translated 
by  Lady  Charlotte  Guest.  There  is  no  need  to  give  here  an  outline 
of  this  Mabinogi,  since  the  subject  is  not  of  sufficient  importance  to 
call  for  a  comparison  between  the  Welsh  story  and  the  German 
poem. 


282  THE   GREAT  EPICS   OF 

bowl  was  suspended.  There  he  was  to  pour  some 
water  from  the  bowl  on  the  slab.  The  knight  at  once 
set  out,  and  after  traversing  a  beautiful  country, 
reached  the  fountain.  He  cast  a  bowlful  of  water  on 
the  marble  slab,  whereupon  a  fearful  thunder  was 
heard,  a  heavy  shower  came,  and  huge  hailstones  fell. 
The  song  of  the  birds  ceased,  and  the  woods  were 
destroyed  by  the  storm.  Immediately  afterwards  the 
lord  of  the  country  appeared  and  furiously  challenged 
the  knight  to  a  combat.  The  latter  had  hardly  time 
to  prepare  himself  for  defence,  and  was  quickly  van- 
quished by  his  adversary,  who  despoiled  him  of  his 
horse.  He  was  then  obliged  to  return  on  foot,  and 
felt  sorely  grieved  and  ashamed  at  the  issue  of  his 
adventure. 

One  of  the  cavaliers  who  had  listened  to  the 
knight's  story  was  Iwein,  who  determined  to  seek 
the  magic  fountain  and  avenge  the  discomfiture  of  his 
friend.  But  as  Arthur  solemnly  declared  that  within 
a  fortnight  he  would  set  out  with  all  his  followers  to 
encounter  the  lord  of  the  fountain,  Iwein  at  once 
departed  secretly,  because  he  was  resolved  to  carry 
off  the  palm  of  victory  alone.  He  came  to  the  foun- 
tain, and  everything  happened  as  the  knight  had  re- 
lated. However,  in  the  combat  Iwein  inflicted  a 
fatal  wound  on  King  Askalon,  the  lord  of  the  coun- 
try, and  pursued  him  to  the  drawbridge  of  the  royal 
castle.  Askalon,  although  deadly  wounded,  succeeded 
in  entering  his  castle ;  but  the  portcullis,  when  it 
fell,  struck  Iwein's  horse  behind  the  saddle  and  cut 
it  in  two.  Iwein  barely  escaped  with  his  life,  and 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  283 

found  himself  imprisoned  between  the  portcullis  and 
the  inner  gate  that  had  been  closed.  In  this  distress 
there  came  to  him  from  a  hidden  door  a  lady,  called 
Lunete,  who  was  one  of  the  maidens  of  the  queen. 
She  gave  him  a  magic  ring,  by  which  he  could  render 
himself  invisible  and  thus  escape  the  revenge  of  the 
people  of  the  castle.  While  the  king  was  being  buried 
Iwein  perceived  the  queen  Laudine,  his  widow,  and, 
struck  by  her  marvellous  beauty,  was  filled  with  sudden 
and  glowing  love  of  her.  By  Lunete's  cunning  advice 
the  queen  was  convinced  that  she  must  have  a  hus- 
band who  would  be  able  to  defend  the  magic  fountain 
against  King  Arthur.  At  first  Laudine  would  not 
listen  to  Lunete's  insinuations,  but  soon  she  ordered 
Iwein  to  be  sent  for  at  once.  Lunete  had  told  the 
queen  that  the  knight  who  conquered  her  husband 
must  be  braver  than  the  latter,  and  therefore  worthier 
of  her  love.  Laudine,  perceiving  Iwein,  returned  his 
affection,  and  became  his  wife.  In  this  connection 
the  poet  takes  the  opportunity  to  defend  the  incon- 
stancy of  women  in  a  humorous  manner.  He  pre- 
tends that  the  cause  of  their  fickleness  is  nothing  but 
their  innate  kindness. 

Soon  after  Iwein's  marriage  King  Arthur  arrived 
at  the  fountain.  Iwein,  being  now  the  lord  of  the 
country,  at  once  rode  forth  to  the  combat  and  over- 
came the  boastful  Sir  Kai.  Then  he  went  to  the 
king,  and  great  was  the  joy  of  Arthur  and  his  court 
when  they  saw  that  it  was  Iwein  who  had  become 
the  ruler  of  the  land.  Arthur  and  his  knights  were 
hospitably  entertained  by  Iwein  during  seven  days, 


284  THE   GREAT   EPICS  OF 

and  Laudine  was  greatly  pleased  with  the  prowess  of 
her  husband.  Gawain  advised  Iwein  not  to  be  like 
Erek,  and  through  love  of  his  wife  forget  the  duties 
and  honors  of  chivalry.  Thereupon  Iwein  took  leave 
of  Laudine,  but  promised  to  return  to  her  within  a 
year. 

Yet  the  time  passed  quickly  at  Arthur's  court, 
whither  Iwein  had  gone,  and  a  year  elapsed  before 
he  was  aware  of  it.  Then  Lunete  appeared  with  a 
message  from  the  queen  Laudine,  who  accused  him 
of  faithlessness,  and  told  him  that  she  loved  him  no 
more.  At  these  tidings  Iwein  was  filled  with  sad- 
ness and  left  the  court.  Like  an  insane  man,  he 
wandered  about  in  the  woods.  His  appearance  be- 
came so  changed  that  he  could  hardly  be  recognized. 
After  some  time  he  was  found  in  this  pitiful  condi- 
tion by  a  lady  and  her  maids ;  they  took  care  of  him, 
and  by  means  of  a  precious  ointment  his  health  was 
restored.  He  showed  his  gratitude  by  victoriously 
defending  the  land  of  the  lady  against  her  enemies. 
Afterwards  he  left  the  country,  and  on  his  wander- 
ings met  a  lion  who  was  fighting  with  a  dragon.  He 
aided  the  former  and  slew  the  latter.  The  lion  became 
henceforth  faithfully  attached  to  him,  and  was  his 
inseparable  companion. 

At  last  by  chance  Iwein  arrived  in  Laudine's 
realm.  There  he  found  Lunete,  who  on  account  of 
false  accusations  had  been  imprisoned  by  order  of 
the  queen,  and  was  condemned  to  die  on  the  follow- 
ing morning.  Iwein  espoused  the  cause  of  Lunete, 
and  by  the  aid  of  his  faithful  lion  vanquished  her 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  285 

accusers  in  the  combat.  Laudine,  who  did  not  recog- 
nize the  victorious  hero,  besought  him  to  remain  with 
her  some  time.  He  did  not  yield  to  her  wishes,  and 
when  she  asked  him  his  name,  he  told  her  that  he 
was  the  knight  with  the  lion.  He  left  her,  and  in 
the  course  of  his  wanderings  overcame  two  powerful 
giants,  and  freed  three  hundred  maidens,  who  were 
imprisoned.  In  all  his  warlike  adventures  he  was 
assisted  by  the  strength  of  his  faithful  lion.  After- 
wards he  arrived  at  Arthur's  court  and  fought  with 
Gawain,  but  without  his  lion,  so  that  he  should  not 
be  recognized.  He  had  made  himself  the  champion 
of  a  noble  lady  who  had  been  deprived  of  her  inher- 
itance by  her  elder  sister,  and  the  cause  of  the  latter 
had  been  espoused  by  Gawain.  The  issue  of  the 
combat  remained  doubtful  for  a  long  time,  but  at  last 
the  two  knights  recognized  each  other,  and  were  sur- 
prised and  delighted  at  their  unexpected  encounter. 
The  dispute  of  the  sisters  was  decided  by  Arthur, 
in  accordance  with  justice,  in  favor  of  the  younger 
lady.  Great  joy  reigned  at  the  court  of  the  king, 
and  Iwein,  the  knight  with  the  lion,  was  admired  by 
all. 

Yet  now  an  intense  longing  seized  him  for  Laudine, 
and  he  went  to  the  fountain.  There  he  caused,  in  the 
manner  indicated  above,  such  a  thunder-storm  that 
the  queen  and  her  people  were  filled  with  anger  and 
dismay.  In  this  distress  Laudine  asked  Lunete's 
advice.  The  latter  told  her  that  the  knight  with  the 
lion,  who  had  saved  her  from  death,  was  the  only  one 
who  could  protect  the  queen  against  her  foes  ;  but 


286  THE   GREAT  EPICS  OF 

his  aid  could  only  be  obtained  if  Laudine  would 
promise  to  reconcile  him  to  his  wife.  The  queen, 
without  suspecting  the  cunning  design  of  Lunete, 
gave  the  required  promise  by  oath.  Then  Iwein 
appeared,  and  soon  a  sincere  reconciliation  took  place 
between  him  and  Laudine. 

Hartmann's  "  Iwein  "  is  not  without  its  blemishes ; 
but  they,  like  the  shortcomings  of  Wolfram  and  Gott- 
fried, must  be  attributed  to  the  character  of  the  sub- 
ject in  the  traditions,  from  which  no  Mediaeval  poet 
could  venture  to  deviate  to  any  great  extent.  There 
is  no  psychological  motive  for  Iwein's  sudden  love  of 
Laudine,  nor  for  her  almost  immediate  change  of  affec- 
tion after  Askalon  had  died.  Indeed,  there  are  sev- 
eral features  in  the  legends  of  King  Arthur,  which  by 
reason  of  the  strange  spirit  that  pervaded  them  must 
have  been  repugnant  to  the  German  poets.  We  may 
mention  here  only  Erek's  (Geraint's)  treatment  of  the 
innocent  Enid.  The  general  fantastic  character  of 
the  Welsh  stories  may  be  given  as  a  plea  to  extenuate 
Erek's  cruel  and  absurd  behavior,  yet  for  all  that  the 
subject  is  far  from  being  refreshing.  However,  in 
Hartmann's  "  Iwein  "  the  language  is  so  beautiful,  the 
narration  flows  so  naturally  and  gracefully,  and  the 
style  is  so  elegant  and  dignified,  that  we  are  led  to 
admire  the  poet's  talent,  even  when  we  can  feel  no 
great  interest  in  the  subject  of  the  work. 

Besides  "  Erek  "  and  "  Iwein  "  Hartmann  wrote  two 
other  epics ;  these  are  "  Gregorius  vom  Steine " 
(Gregory  of  the  Eock)  and  "  Der  arme  Heinrich  " 
(Poor  Henry).  The  legend  of  Gregory  was  very  well 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  287 

known  during  the  Middle  Ages.  It  is  a  sort  of 
Christian  (Edipus  story  and  cannot  be  repeated  here. 
Its  fundamental  idea  is  that  true  repentance  can 
atone  for  the  greatest  sins.  The  material  of  the 
"  Poor  Henry  "  is  based  on  an  old  German  saga,  and 
was  probably  connected  by  the  poet  with  a  tradition 
in  his  family.  The  subject  has  been  treated  by  Long- 
fellow in  one  of  his  most  beautiful  works, "  The  Golden 
Legend." 

Hartmann  wrote,  besides  his  epics,  some  very  fine 
lyric  poems,  and  the  striking  characteristic  of  nearly 
all  of  them  is  a  certain  manliness.  In  this  respect  he 
distinguished  himself  very  favorably  from  most  of  the 
other  Minnesanger,  who  often  carried  their  sentimen- 
tality too  far,  so  that  their  theme  —  the  love  of  woman 
—  and  their  doings  appeared  at  last  in  an  absurd  man- 
ner, as  can  be  seen  in  the  work  of  Ulrich  von  Lichten- 
stein  (who  died  in  1275).  It  is  very  probable  that 
Hartmann  was  a  native  of  Suabia,  and  was  born  about 
the  year  1170.  His  earliest  production  was  "  Erek  " 
and  his  last  "  Iwein."  He  was  very  popular  among  his 
contemporaries,  and  Gottfried  von  Strassburg  bestowed 
great  praise  on  him  in  the  well-known  passage  of  his 
"  Tristan  "  in  which  he  reviewed  the  German  poets  of 
his  time.  Eudolf  von  Ems  (who  died  in  1254)  was  an 
imitator  of  Hartmann,  and  ranked  his  master  among 
the  famous  poets  of  his  age.  Hartmann  was  one  of  the 
Crusaders  under  Barbarossa  between  the  years  1189 
and  1191,  and  wrote  his  "  Erek  "  soon  after  his  re- 
turn to  Germany,  probably  in  the  year  1193.*  He 

*  Cf.  Fedor  Bech's  Introduction  to  his  Hartmann  von  Aue,  Vol.  I. 


288  THE   GREAT   EPICS  OF 

was  acquainted  with  the  French  language,  and  was 
also  otherwise  well  educated.  It  seems  that  he  died 
soon  after  the  year  1212. 

Wolfram,  whom  Friedrich  Schlegel  called  the 
greatest  German  poet,*  reminds  us  of  Dante  and 
Klopstock,  not  only  by  the  sublimity  of  his  art,  but 
by  the  lofty  and  at  the  same  time  profound  ideas 
which  form  the  foundation  of  his  works,  and  espe- 
cially of  his  "  Parzival."  But,  like  Dante  and  Klop- 
stock, he  often  shrouds  his  thoughts  in  a  mystic 
garb,  the  beauty  of  which  is  revealed  only  after  a 
deep  and  persevering  study.  Gottfried  was  not  in- 
clined to  contemplate  with  favor  the  earnest  and 
sombre  colors  of  life,  but  his  whole  soul  dwelled  with 
delight  upon  the  apparently  rosy-colored  aspect  of  the 
world.  His  poetic  creations  seem  to  hover  in  a  realm 
of  pleasure,  where  little  thought  is  bestowed  on  the 
realities  of  life  and  on  the  higher  questions  and 
aspirations  of  the  human  mind.  Yet  in  regard  to 
artistic  form,  pleasing  and  elegant  manner,  finish 
of  style,  and  clearness  and  gracefulness  of  expression, 
Gottfried  surpasses  all  his  contemporaries,  and  in  this 
respect  is  as  different  from  Wolfram  as  Wieland  is  from 
Klopstock.  Between  the  two  extremes,  exemplified 
by  Wolfram  and  Gottfried,  stands  Hartmann  von 
Aue,  the  knight  and  scholar,  who  belongs  to  the  trio 
of  the  great  court-poets  of  Mediaeval  Germany,  and 
is  the  representative  of  the  beautiful  within  its  true 
limits.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  fame  of  these 

*  An  exaggerated  statement.     Wolfram  is  one  of  the  greatest 
poets  of  Mediaeval  Germany. 


MEDLEVAL    GERMANY.  289 

masters  would  have  spread  beyond  the  boundaries  of 
their  native  land,  and  that  still  greater  renown  might 
have  been  gained  by  the  succeeding  generation,  if 
Germany  under  the  Hohenstaufen  emperors  had  been 
victorious  in  its  wars  with  the  .Roman  hierarchy. 
Yet,  since  the  German  kings  became  the  successors 
of  Augustus  and  the  chiefs  of  the  Holy  Bornan  Em- 
pire, the  prosperity  and  freedom  of  Germany  were 
doomed  to  destruction.  As  the  gold  of  the  Nibelungs 
was  a  curse  to  its  possessors,  the  imperial  crown  of 
Rome  from  the  hands  of  the  Pope  proved  to  be  fatal 
to  the  Teuton  princes,  in  spite  of  all  outward  splen- 
dor. With  the  decline  of  the  empire  came  the  de- 
cline of  German  poetry. 


NOTES. 


1.  (Cf.  p.  90.)  —  In  the  two  Eddas  and  in  the  Volsunga  Saga 
nothing  is  said  of  Siegfried's  invulnerability,  while  the  latter  fact 
is  mentioned  not  only  in  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  but  in  the  Thidrek 
Saga,  the  lay  of  Siegfried,  the  Rosengarten,  the  popular  book  of 
Siegfried,  and  in  other  later  traditions ;  yet  the  German  poems 
"Biterolf"  and  "Die  Klage"  (The  Lament)  are  silent  about 
it.  Although  nothing  is  said  of  the  horny  skin  in  the  two 
Eddas  and  in  the  Volsunga  Saga,  the  origin  of  the  tale  of  Sieg- 
fried's invulnerability  may  yet  be  connected  with  some  ancient 
tradition.  The  comparison  with  the  story  of  Achilles  proves 
little,  while  on  the  other  hand  Raszmann's  view  on  this  point 
seems  at  least  very  probable.  This  eminent  scholar  points  to  the 
account  of  the  Edda  and  Volsunga  Saga,  according  to  which 
Sigmund  was  so  powerful  a  man  that  he  might  take  poison  with- 
out being  hurt  from  it,  while  his  sons,  Sigurd  and  Sinfjotli,  had 
so  hard  a  skin  that  they  could  bear  whatever  poison  came  on 
the  outside  of  their  body,  but  could  not  drink  it.  Thus  Sigurd 
was  not  hurt  by  Eafnir,  although  the  latter  snorted  forth  poison 
which  fell  on  Sigurd's  head  as  he  stood  in  a  pit  when  the  dragon 
crept  over  it.*  "  If  we  can  assume,"  says  Raszmann,  "that  this 
highly  signiQcant  mythical  characteristic  of  the  mighty  nature  of 
the  Volsungs  was  not  added  by  the  Northern  nations,  we  are  led 

*  p.  64. 


292  NOTES. 

to  think  of  the  ancient  custom  of  hardening  swords  by  poison 
and  armor  by  the  blood  of  dragons  and  salamanders.  In  the 
fragments  of  the  lay  of  Brynhild  in  the  Edda,  Brynhild  says  of 
Sigurd's  sword,  "  Without  were  its  edges  wrought  with  fire, 
but  with  venom-drops  deep  dyed  within ;  "  and  in  the  Volsunga 
Saga  *  she  speaks  of  "  the  sharp-edged  sword  that  in  poison  had 
been  made  hard."  When  the  saga  took  a  coarser  form,  there 
could  easily  arise  the  conception  that  Siegfried's  skin  had  been 
so  hard  that  even  a  sword  sharpened  in  poison  could  not  wound 
him,  and  that  he  had  bathed  in  the  blood  or  in  the  melted  horny 
skin  of  the  dragon  in  order  to  obtain  this  wonderful  property.-)- 
At  all  events,  the  horny  skin  is  the  rude  conception  of  Siegfried's 
unconquerable  strength. 


2.  (Cf.  p.  114.)  —  Professor  K.  Miillenhoff  thinks  that  this 
representation  of  the  revenge  was  brought  about  by  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  (second)  Burguudian  realm  by  the  Franks,  which 
event  he  places  in  the  year  583.  He  says  :  "  The  most  essential 
point  here  is,  that  a  Burgundian  princess,  Chrodhild,  instigated 
the  Frankish  kings,  her  sons,  to  the  war  with,  and  destruction 
of,  her  own  race."  J  Clotild  (Chrodhild  or  Chrodichild)  was  the 
daughter  of  the  Burgundian  king,  Chilperic,  and  was  married  in 
493  to  Clovis  (Chlodoveg),  king  of  the  Franks,  who  died  in  the 
year  511;  yet  the  Burgundians,  who  are  reported  to  have  been 
the  object  of  the  hatred  of  the  widow  of  Clovis,  were  not  her 
brothers,  but  the  sons  of  Gundobad,  the  brother  of  her  father 
Chilperic ;  and  Gundobad,  her  uncle,  is  supposed,  on  the  author- 
ity of  Gregoire  de  Tours,  to  have  put  her  parents  to  death  about 
the  year  490.  It  is  a  historic  fact  that  the  sous  of  Clovis  and 
Clotild  attacked  and  defeated  Godomar  and  Sigismund,  the  sons 
of  Gundobad,  in  a  great  battle  in  523,  and  Sigismund  and  his 
family  were  thrown  into  a  well,  where  they  perished.  However, 
Burgundy  was  not  yet  lost,  for  Godomar  became  king  in  524, 

*  Chapter  XXXII.  t  Vol.  I.  p.  138. 

\  Haupt's  Zeitschrift,  X.  p.  179. 


NOTES.  293 

and  routed  the  E  ranks  in  the  same  year,  when  Chlodomer,  one 
of  the  sons  of  Clovis  and  Clotild,  fell  in  the  battle.  Godomar 
bravely  upheld  his  kingdom  eight  years  longer,  until  Chlotar 
and  Childebert,  two  other  sons  of  Clovis  and  Clotild,  again 
attacked  Burgundy  and  completely  conquered  it.  Godomar  fled, 
and  nothing  certain  is  known  of  his  end.  Thus  the  final  over- 
throw of  the  Burgundian  kingdom  took  place  in  532. 

We  cannot  conclude  that  Miillenhoff's  opinion  is  wrong  from 
the  mere  fact  that  the  victims  of  Clotild's  supposed  revenge  were 
not  her  brothers,  but  the  sons  of  her  uncle ;  for  the  saga  is  very 
free  in  transforming  historical  events,  and  especially  those  of  a 
secondary  importance  :  in  this  case  the  Burgundian  kings  were, 
although  not  her  brothers,  yet  of  her  own  family.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  accounts  of  Gregoire  de  Tours  and  of  some  of  his 
Catholic  contemporaries  were  not  only  strongly  tinctured  by  their 
abhorrence  of  the  Arian  Burgundians,  but  also  by  the  current 
opinions  of  the  time.  Moreover  Gregoire's  report  that  Gundobad 
murdered  his  brother  Chilperic,  the  father  of  Clotild,  is  without 
doubt  utterly  false,  and  therefore  all  the  consequences  drawn 
from  that  supposed  murder,  and  particularly  the  stories  about 
Clotild's  revenge,  are  unhistSrical  In  this  connection  it  seems 
proper  to  refer  to  the  exhaustive  and  searching  investigations  in 
the  early  history  of  Burgundy  by  Carl  Binding,*  by  which  much 
light  has  been  thrown  on  the  true  relations  of  the  Burgundian 
kings  to  one  another  and  to  the  Franks.  Nevertheless  the  fact 
of  the  partly  legendary  character  of  the  histories  of  that  epoch 
cannot  be  used  as  an  argument  against  Miillenhoff's  theory ;  on 
the  contrary,  it  merely  proves  that  popular  tradition  sought  a 
cause  for  the  overthrow  of  the  Burgundians  by  the  sons  of  a 
Burgundian  princess,  and  naturally  attributed  the  fall  of  Bur- 
gundy to  the  vengeance  of  Clotild  on  her  kindred.  In  a  similar 
manner,  as  we  have  seen  above,  Attila's  sudden  death  by  the  side 
of  his  newly  married  wife  was  soon  construed  by  the  saga  as 
having  been  caused  by  her,  and  then  she  became  in  the  Northern 

*  Geschichte  des  Burgundisch-Romanischen  Konigreichs  von  Carl 
Binding.  Leipzig,  Wilhelm  Engelmann,  1868. 


294  NOTES. 

traditions  the  avenger  of  her  brothers;  thus  the  fact  of  the 
existence  of  these  popular  beliefs  in  regard  to  Clotild's  revenge 
must  rather  be  taken  as  an  argument  in  favor  of  MullenhofTs 
view.  The  chief  objection  raised  against  the  opinion  of  this  dis- 
tinguished scholar  is,  that  by  accepting  it  we  should  be  forced 
to  assume  that  the  primitive  version  of  the  saga,  in  which  Atli 
betrays  Gunnar  and  his  house  and  is  slain  by  his  wife,  had  been 
transmitted  to  the  Northern  nations  before  the  story  of  Clotild's 
vengeance  became  known  and  current  among  the  people,  that  is, 
at  least  before  the  year  532,  since  the  final  overthrow  of  the 
Burgundian  kingdom  in  Savoy  by  the  Pranks  occurred  at  that 
time,  as  has  been  shown  above.  The  supposition  that  the  whole 
saga  came  at  that  early  epoch  (before  532)  to  the  North  is  indeed 
contrary  to  the  views  of  the  best  scholars  on  the  subject ;  yet 
the  theory  that  the  tale  of  the  revenge,  as  related  in  the  Nibe- 
lungen  Lied,  was  influenced  by  the  story  of  Clotild  need  not 
therefore  be  relinquished.  Considering  that  the  saga  was  then 
in  a  constantly  fluctuating  condition,  and  that  in  different  locali- 
ties it  was  affected  more  or  less  by  different  circumstances,  it  is 
quite  possible  that  in.  some  regions,  soon  after  Attila's  death,  the 
idea  that  he  was  murdered  by  his  wife  became  prevalent,  and 
was  later  transmitted  to  the  North;  while  in  other  places  the 
story  of  the  revenge,  as  told  in  the  German  epic,  gained  ground 
in  the  manner  indicated  on  page  128,  and  was  probably  influenced 
by  the  tale  of  Clotild.  As  we  have  said  above,*  Miillenhoff  puts 
the  date  of  the  destruction  of  the  Burgundian  realm  by  the  sons 
of  Clotild  in  the  year  583.  This  date  is  merely  a  misprint,  which 
however  has  not  been  detected  by  Professor  R.  von  Muth,  the 
author  of  an  excellent  and  much  needed  compendium  on  the 
Nibelung  subject  -f  from  Lachmann's  point  of  view,  J  as  he  not 
only  repeats  the  error  on  page  52  in  quoting  Miillenhoff  'a  view, 
but,  what  is  more  important,  argues  upon  that  date  on  page  53  by 

*  p.  292. 

f  Eiuleitung  in  das  Nibelungen  Lied  von  Richard  von  Muth.   Pader- 
born,  1877. 
J  p.  140. 


NOTES.  295 

saying  that  the  Northmen  must  have  received  the  saga  before  the 
transformation  of  the  motives  of  revenge  in  the  ninth  decade  of 
the  sixth  century,  and  again  on  the  same  page  states  that  the 
saga  came  to  the  North  between  555  and  583. 


3.  (Cf.  p.  142.)  —  Although  Holtzmann  expressed  in  his 
work  peculiar  opinions  about  the  origination  of  our  poem,  and 
the  relation  of  the '  Nibelung  story  to  the  early  epics  of  the 
Hindus,  as  well  as  on  German  and  Keltic  mythology,  his  view 
that  C  contained  the  earliest  known  text  was  accepted  by  many 
leading  scholars  in  Germany.  Among  the  latter  we  must  men- 
tion here  especially  Friedrich  Zarncke,  who,  before  Holtzmann's 
book  appeared,  by  independent  investigation  had  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  A  contained  upon  the  whole  the  least  trustworthy 
text.  Zarncke  explained  his  views  more  particularly  in  his 
inaugural  address  delivered  at  the  University  of  Leipzig  before 
entering  on  his  professorship  of  German  literature.* 

At  that  time  a  vehement  controversy  arose  between  the  fol- 
lowers of  Lachmann  and  his  opponents,  the  former  adhering  to 
the  text  A  and  the  theory  of  the  twenty  lays,  and  the  latter 
defending  the  manuscript  C  and  also  generally  asserting  the  unity 
of  the  poem.  Many  volumes  have  been  written  on  this  vexed 
question,  and  great  scholarship  has  been  displayed  on  both  sides, 
while  at  the  same  time  it  must  be  regretted  that  the  discussion 
has  been  often  carried  on  with  too  much  bitterness  and  positivism, 
and  in  a  few  instances  sharp  personalities  have  been  exchanged. 
We  may  repeat  here,  that  no  one  denies  or  can  deny  that  our 
epic  is  at  least  based  on  ancient  songs ;  but  Lachmann's  followers 
assert  that  the  latter  have  been  literally  inserted  in  the  poem,  and 
that  the  remainder,  as  found  in  A,  consist  of  interpolations. 
Besides,  Lachmann  not  only  declared  A  to  contain  the  earliest 
text,  but  he  would  not  admit  that  B  and  C  had  more  than  a 

*  Zur  Nibelungenfrage.  Ein  Vortrag  gehalten  in  der  Aula  der  Univer- 
sitat  Leipzig  am  28.  Juli  von  Friedrich  Zarncke.  Nebst  zwei  Anhiingen 
uiid  einer  Tabelle.  Leipzig,  1854. 


296  NOTES. 

conjectural  value.  On  the  other  hand,  most  of  Lachmann'a 
opponents  contend  that  the  ancient  popular  songs  were  merely 
the  source  of  the  poem,  and  that  C  represents  the  oldest  text. 

One  of  the  most  distinguished  scholars  that  holds  to  Lach- 
mann's  view  is  Professor  Karl  Miillenhoff,  of  the  University  of 
Berlin,  who  published,  in  1855,  "  Zur  Geschichte  der  Nibelunge 
Not."  A  reply  to  his  work  will  be  found  in  "  Literarisches  Cen- 
tralblatt,  1855,"  by  Friedrich  Zarncke  ;  in  "  Gottinger  Gelehrte 
Anzeigen,  1855,"  by  Wilhelm  Miiller ;  and  m  Holtzmann^s 
"  Kampf  um  der  Nibelunge  Hort  gegen  Lachmann's  Nachtreter, 
1855."  Those  who  delight  in  literary  warfare  are  referred  to  the 
above-named  works ;  and  they  will  find  them  without  doubt  most 
edifying  reading,  while  at  the  same  time  they  will  be  richly  re- 
paid for  their  venture  by  the  valuable  information  contained  in 
them. 

It  does  not  come  within  the  scope  of  this  work  to  enter  into 
any  detailed  account  of  the  arguments  and  different  shades  of 
opinion  of  the  leading  scholars  on  the  question  of  the  manuscripts 
and  of  the  composition  of  our  epic ;  moreover,  to  thoroughly 
accomplish  a  task  of  that  kind  would  require  a  volume  much 
larger  than  the  present.  Yet  we  may  state,  in  general,  that  while 
each  school  continued  to  defend  its  own  theories  and  to  attack 
those  of  the  other,  their  arguments  were  chiefly  based  on  internal 
evidence.  Thus  the  adherents  of  one  party  tried  to  prove  that 
the  text  in  B  and  principally  in  C  contained  ameliorations 
brought  about  by  the  endeavor  to  bring  the  poem  more  in  agree- 
ment with  the  ideas  of  Mediaeval  German  refinement  and  chivalry, 
and  that  therefore  B  and  C  were  later  than  A,  while  the  opposing 
party  attempted  to  show  that  A  had  become  what  it  is  by  neglect 
and  carelessness,  and  was  later  than  B  and  C.  In  this  connection 
it  may  also  be  said  that  many  points  in  question  are  a  matter  of 
mere  subjective  opinion,  and  that  there  is  no  infallible  criterion 
by  whicli  they  can  be  decided.  Besides  the  books  and  pamphlets 
published  apart  by  the  different  scholars,  Lachmann's  opponents 
have  often  expressed  their  opinions  on  the  subject  in  critical  reviews 
in  "  Literarisches  Centralblatt,"  edited  by  the  eminent  Professor 


NOTES.  297 

Friedrich  Zarncke,  and  in  the  periodical  "  Germania,"  of  which 
many  volumes  have  now  appeared,  while  the  views  of  Lach- 
mann's  school  can  be  found  in  Haupt's  "  Zeitschrift  fiir  deutsches 
Alterthum."  The  two  last-named  works  are  highly  recom- 
mended to  all  students  of  Old  German  literature,  as  they  contain 
original  and  learned  articles,  not  only  on  the  Nibelungen  Lied, 
but  also  on  the  other  great  and  minor  poems  of  that  era. 

A  new  animation  entered  into  the  discussions  of  the  German 
scholars,  when  in  1862  the  startling  announcement  was  made  by 
Franz  Pfeiffer,  the  founder  of  the  periodical  "  Germania,"  that 
the  poet  of  the  Nibelungeu  Lied  had  been  discovered.  The 
latter  was  supposed  to  be  no  other  than  "  der  Von  Kiirenberg  " 
or  "  der  Kiireuberger,"  a  knight  under  whose  name  we  possess 
thirteen  stanzas,  which  agree  in  form  exactly  with  the  Nibelung 
stanza.*  They  are  found  in  the  famous  Parisian  manuscript 
collection  of  Mediaeval  German  lyrics,  which  was  formerly  called 
"  Manessische  Liederhandschrift."  f  The  names  of  various 
authors,  both  of  real  personages,  as  Wolfram  von  Eschenbach 
and  Konrad  von  Wiirzburg,  and  of  imaginary  characters  like 
Klinsor  of  Hungary,  had  been  imputed  to  our  epic  ever  since  it 
had  been  rediscovered  by  Bodmer.  Yet  the  question  was  ele- 
vated into  a  more  scientific  sphere  only  through  Pfeiffer,  and  the 
honor  of  having  first  based  the  theory  of  the  "  Kiirenberger  "  on 
at  least  very  plausible  arguments  belongs  entirely  to  him.  It  is 
true  that  the  first  mention  of  the  Kiirenberger  in  connection  with 
the  Nibelungen  Lied  was  made  by  F.  J.  Mone  as  early  as  1826,t 

*  Cf.  p.  148. 

t  This  collection  is  the  richest,  but  not  the  earliest  of  Mediaeval 
German  lyrics  (Minnegesang),  the  most  important  one  being  at  Heidel- 
berg. The  former  was  named  after  Riidiger  Manesse,  a  knight  of 
the  noble  and  wealthy  house  of  Manesse,  and  a  Councillor  at  Zurich,  who 
together  with  his  eldest  son  was  presumed  to  have  made  that  collection. 
The  supposition  was  based  on  the  mere  general  statement  that  they  col- 
lected books  of  songs.  Cf.  August  Koberstein's  Geschichte  der  deutschen 
Nationalliteratur,  5th  edition,  Vol.  I.  p.  219,  Note  10. 

£  Badisches  Archiv,  Vol.  I.  pp.  53,  54. 


298  NOTES. 

but  Pfeiffer  was  probably  not  aware  of  it ;  and  in  fact  Hone's 
opinion  had  not  attracted  much  attention,  nor  was  it  further 
developed  and  examined.  Holtzmann*  alluded  to  the  Kiiren- 
berger,  and  said  that  if  a  poet  could  be  found  who  employed  the 
Nibelung  stanza  about  the  year  1200,  there  would  be  great 
probability  that  he  was  the  author  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied.  He 
declared  that  he  knew  but  one  poet  —  the  Kiirenberger  —  who 
had  used  that  versification ;  but  from  the  rhyme  and  language 
he  belonged  to  an  earlier  date  than  our  epic.  Pfeiffer,  referring 
to  these  remarks  of  Holtzmann,  asserted  that  the  latter  had 
come  very  near  the  truth ;  and  as  the  stanzas  ascribed  to  the 
Kiirenberger  cannot  be  placed  later  than  1150,  he  assumed  that 
our  epic  in  its  present  shape  is  a  remodelling  of  an  earlier  origi- 
nal work,  the  author  of  which  is  the  Kiirenberger.  The  Pari- 
sian manuscript  gives  no  Christian  name  of  the  poet,  and  as  there 
lived  several  members  qf  this  family  in  the  vicinity  of  Linz  in 
Austria,  it  is  not  certain  which  one  of  them  is  meant.  Pfeiffer 
supposed  that  it  was  Magenes  von  Kiirenberg  (1120-1140), 
while  Thausing  f  believed  that  it  was  Konrad  von  Kiireuberg 
(1140-1147). 

As  a  general  reason  why  the  Kiirenberger  is  in  all  probability 
not  the  author  of  our  poem,  we  may  state  here  that  popular  epics 
have  no  author  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word.  They  are,  as 
has  been  said  before,  the  poetic  document  of  popular  feeling  and 
tradition,  being  based  on  ancient  national  lays,  the  authors  of 
which  were  unknown  and  disappeared  behind  their  work,  as 
they  were  merely  the  preservers  of  the  old  folk-lore.  In  the  pop- 
ular epics  we  also  find  generally  that  they  begin  with  a  reference 
to  tradition  and  close  with  the  name  of  the  work,  as  can  be  seen 
in  the  Nibelungen  Lied.  On  the  other  hand  the  composers  of 
the  court  epics  treated  with  preference  foreign  stories,  and  dis- 
tinctly displayed  their  individuality,  while  they  gave  their  names 

*  Untersuchnngen  uber  das  Nibelungenlied,  pp.  185,  186. 
t  Nibelungenstudien  in  "  Oesterreichische  Wochenschrift,  1864,  Nos. 
2-5." 


NOTES.  299 

at  the  beginning  or  at  the  end  of  their  poems.  Again  there  are 
many  allusions  and  distinct  references  to  the  great  Mediaeval  Ger- 
man poets  in  contemporaneous  and  later  productions,  especially 
in  Gottfried's  " Tristan nnd Isold;"  and  yet  never  is  the  Kiiren- 
berger  or  any  other  poet  mentioned  as  the  author  of  our  epic. 
Indeed  it  is  not  probable  that  such  would  have  been  the  case 
if  he  had  been  known. 

While  these  general  reasons  cannot  be  called  decisive,  since 
what  appears  nearly  impossible  might  nevertheless  have  happened 
in  a  particular  case,  namely,  in  regard  to  the  authorship  of  the 
Nibelungen  Lied,  we  may  briefly  refer  to  the  most  important 
argument  of  Pfeifler  in  favor  of  his  theory;  yet  it  will  be  proper 
to  give  first  one  of  the  stanzas  ascribed  to  the  Kiirenberger,  as 
it  is  of  great  value  for  our  purpose.  The  stanza  is  found  in 
"  Minnesaugs  Friihliiig,"  8,  1-8  and  reads  as  follows  :  — 

"  leh  stuont  mir  nehtint  spate     an  einer  zinnen  ; 

Do  hort  ich  einen  ritter     vil  wol  singen 

In  Kiirenberges  wise     al  uz  der  menigm. 

Er  muoz  mir  diu  lant  rumen,     aid  ich  geniete  mich  sin." 

"  I  late  at  eve  was  standing     high  on  a  battlement ; 

There  I  a  knight  heard  singing     full  well  with  sentiment 

In  Kiirenberger's  stanza     from  out  the  crowded  throng. 

The  knight  must  leave  these  regions,  else  I  be  his  erelong." 
Of  course  it  is  a  lady  who  is  here  introduced  as  speaking, 
probably  the  wife  of  another,  and  a  powerful  princess  :  she  com- 
mands the  knight  to  depart  from  her  lands,  since  she  fears  to 
yield  to  his  love;  and  the  whole  passage  seems  to  depict  her 
inward  struggle.  Vollmoller  *  and  others  declare,  against  Pfeiffer, 
that  from  the  above  stanza  it  is  only  evident  that  there  was  a 
"  Kiirenberges  wise,"  but  not  how  it  was,  nor  consequently 
that  it  was  identical  with  the  Nibelung  verse.  Moreover  Voll- 
moller asserts  that  the  heading  "  der  von  Kiireuberc,"  which 
precedes  the  songs  ascribed  to  the  latter  in  the  Parisian  manu- 
script, was  inserted  there  on  a  mere  inference  from  the  phrase 
*  Kiirenberg  und  die  Nibelungen.  Eine  gekronte  Preisschrift. 
Stuttgart,  1874. 


300  NOTES. 

"in  Kiirenberges  wise,"  and  does  not  prove  that  the  Kiiren- 
berger  was  the  author  of  those  songs  ;  at  the  same  time  he  shows, 
what  is  an  undeniable  fact,  that  several  poets  had  been  wrongly 
imputed  as  authors  of  various  productions  found  in  the  Parisian, 
Heidelberg,  and  other  manuscripts  of  Mediaeval  German  lyrics.* 
Nevertheless  this  latter  fact  does  not  convey  any  conclusive 
evidence  in  regard  to  the  poems  attributed  to  the  Kiirenberger. 
Vollmoller  also  declares  that  "  wise  "  denoted  primarily  the  mel- 
ody of  a  song,  and  not  necessarily  its  metrical  form ;  yet  this  is 
by  no  means  certain,  since  "  wise  "  occurs  at  least  quite  often 
as  a  technical  term  for  stanza,  from  the  time  of  Nother  (died 
1022)  down  to  the  Mastersiugers,  as  has  been  shown  by  Scherer.f 
The  last-named  writer  maintains  that  it  is  not  proved  at  all  that 
it  is  the  Kiirenberger  himself  who  sings,  and  he  reasons  some- 
what like  this :  if  we  hear  any  one  singing,  for  instance,  in 
the  melody  of  Nageli,  we  do  not  imagine  we  hear  that  composer 
singing,  but,  on  the  contrary,  some  one  else.  Again  it  has  been 
asserted  by  Zupitza  J  that  the  assumption  of  the  Kurenberger's 
singing  would  imply  a  breach  of  etiquette  (nnzuhf),  since,  accord- 
ing to  the  customs  of  the  refined  society  of  the  time,  it  was  for- 
bidden to  mention  the  name  of  the  beloved  one,  of  the  knight  or 
of  the  lady.  Yet  there  does  not  seem  to  be  such  a  breach  of 
etiquette  in  this  instance,  as  the  knight  certainly  does  not  name 
the  lady,  nor  does  the  latter  really  speak  and  mention  the  name 
of  the  former ;  but  the  knight  merely  represents  her  as  saying 
those  words,  and  puts  them  in  the  direct  discourse  in  which  he 
himself  then  appears  as  the  person  spoken  of  and  not  the  person 
addressed.  Upon  the  whole,  in  spite  of  Vollmoller's  and  Scherer's 
statements,  the  most  natural  interpretation  of  the  above  stanza, 
taken  in  connection  with  the  succeeding  verses,  implies  that  the 
songs  ascribed  to  the  Kiirenberger  were  really  composed  by 
that  poet,  while  it  is  evident  that  the  metre  of  the  Nibelungen 

*  Vollmoller,  pp.  37-41- 

t  Zeitschrift  fur  deutsches  Alterthum,  Vol.  XVII.  561-581. 
\  Ueber  Franz  Pfeiffer's  Versuch,  den  Kiirenberger  als  den  Dichter 
der  Nibelungen  zu  erweisen.     Oppeln,  1862. 


NOTES.  301 

Lied  is  identical  with  the  versification  of  those  songs,  that  is,  with 
the  "  Kiirenberges  wise." 

Pfeiffer's  main  argument  was  that  at  that  time  no  poet  could 
appropriate  the  metrical  form  invented  by  another,  and  that  there- 
fore, as  the  versification  of  the  Nibeluugen  Lied  and  of  the 
Kiirenberger  songs  is  the  same,  the  author  of  the  latter  must 
also  be  the  author  of  the  former ;  of  course,  not  of  the  epic  in  the 
form  in  which  it  has  been  transmitted  to  us,  but,  as  has  been 
said  above,  of  an  earlier  original  work.  Pfeiffer's  assumption  as 
to  the  exclusive  right  of  ownership  of  a  new  metrical  form  has 
been  refuted,  especially  by  Vollmoller,*  who  showed  beyond 
doubt  that  such  a  law  did  not  exist  in  the  twelfth  century,  but 
that,  on  the  contrary,  the  same  form  of  stanza  could  be  and  had 
been  used  by  both  epic  and  lyric  poets.  It  was  only  during  the 
thirteenth  century,  when  lyric  poetry  had  reached  the  height  of 
its  development,  that  this  right  of  authorship  was  observed. 
Vollmoller  says  very  correctly :  "  The  manifoldness  of  the  forms 
of  stanzas  in  the  Middle  High  German  lyrics  has  its  origin  in 
the  endeavor  to  vary  as  much  as  possible  the  poetical  forms 
in  order  to  avoid  the  objection  of  monotony.  Great  richness 
in  forms  must  supply  the  deficiency  of  new  thoughts.  Besides 
the  metrical  form,  the  air  was  also  the  poet's  creation  and  prop- 
erty. The  latter  no  one  could  appropriate  to  himself  with  im- 
punity in  the  thirteenth  century,  yet  stanzas  metrically  alike 
could  have  different  airs."  Pfeiffer,  besides  the  theory  of  the 
ownership  of  a  metrical  form,  has  indicated  other  reasons  to  sup- 
port his  hypothesis,  as  the  agreement  in  figures,  phraseology, 
and  the  peculiar  use  of  words  in  the  Kiirenberger  songs  and 
in  the  Nibelungen  Lied ;  yet  this  agreement  or  resemblance  is 
also  found  in  other  poems,  and  therefore  does  not  carry  with  it 
the  force  of  a  proof.  In  conclusion,  we  may  also  say  that  accord- 
ing to  Vollmoller  t  the  name  "  Kiirenberg  "  was  a  very  common 
one  in  Austria  and  other  parts  of  Germany,  and  he  has  enumer- 
ated more  than  twenty  castles  and  villages  which  bore  that  name 
during  the  Middle  Ages. 

*  Vollmoller,  pp.  9-16.  t  Ibid.,  pp.  41,  42. 


302  NOTES. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  Lachmann's  followers  from 
their  point  of  view  could  not  but  scorn  the  idea  of  the  Kiiren- 
berger ;  yet  even  among  those  who  believe  in  a  real  poet  of  the 
Nibelungen  Lied,  Pfeiffer  found  but  few  scholars  who  shared 
his  opinion.  Among  the  latter  the  most  distinguished  is  Karl 
Bartsch,  who  moreover  in  1862  presented,  at  the  meeting  of  phi- 
lologists at  Augsburg,  a  new  theory  of  the  composition  of  our  epic, 
which  was  further  developed  when  it  appeared  in  print  in  1865.* 
The  investigations  of  Bartsch  are  mainly  based  on  the  rhyme,  that 
is,  on  the  comparatively  few  instances  where  so-called  impure  or 
apparently  female  rhymes  occur,  as  Hagene,  degene,  etc.  He 
thinks  that  these  rhymes  must  belong  to  an  earlier  date  than  the 
Nibeluugen  Lied  in  its  present  shape,  and  that  they  are  relics  of 
the  original  work.  Thus,  according  to  his  opinion,  the  first  com- 
position of  our  epic  took  place  between  1140  and  1150,  and  was 
followed  at  about  1170  by  a  reconstruction,  including  the  purifi- 
cation of  a  great  part  of  the  rhymes.  From  the  latter  work  came 
independently  B  and  C,  between  1190  and  1200 ;  the  former  man- 
uscript being  more  faithful  to  the  original  than  the  latter.  A 
reply  to  the  announcement  of  this  hypothesis  was  made,  especially 
by  Zarncke.f  His  view  is  that  if  a  poem  has  been  twice  recon- 
structed for  the  sole  purpose  of  improving  its  form,  it  is  certainly 
more  improbable  that  such  rhymes  as  were  contrary  to  the  custom 
of  the  time  remained,  than  that  a  poet,  creating  the  work  anew, 
left  now  and  then  some  antiquated  forms  standing,  Moreover, 
Zarncke  shows  that  impure  or  inexact  rhymes  occur  even  in 
court  epics  ;  for  instance,  in  Wolfram's  "  Parzival,"  53,  19,  gdbe, 
mage,  and  in  other  passages.  Nevertheless  the  work  of  Bartsch 
is  highly  instructive,  and  contains  many  valuable  suggestions, 
while  the  erudition  displayed  in  regard  to  metre  and  rhythm  is 
remarkable.  Yet  when  Bartsch  attempts  to  restore  what  is, 
according  to  bis  opinion,  the  lost  original,  we  must  agree  with 
Zarncke,  whose  judgment  that  the  investigations  of  Bartsch  con- 
tain too  bold  conjectures  is  in  this  respect  no  doubt  correct. 

*  Untersnchungen  iiber  das  Nibelungen  Lied.     Wien,  1865. 

t  Introduction  to  bis  fifth  edition  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  p.  1. 


NOTES.  303 

As  has  been  said  above,  Bartsch  at  first  appeared  to  adopt  Pfeiffer's 
hypothesis  of  the  Kiirenberger,  yet  later  he  emphatically  denied 
that  he  ever  considered  it  an  established  fact.* 


4.  (Cf.  p.  148.) — German  scholars  are  not  agreed  on  this 
poiut.  Some  assert  that  the  first  hemistich  of  every  line  has  four 
accents,  and  the  schema  of  this  form  would  be  :  — 


Thus  the  first  stanza  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied  is  by  them  accented 
as  follows :  — 

Uiis  ist  in  alten  maeren     wunders  vil  geseit 

Von  heleden  lobebaeren,     von  grozer  arebeit ; 

'"^  A  '•  /^ 

Von  freu.de  und  ho'chgezi'ten,  von  weinen  unde  hlagen, 
Von  kii'ener  recken  stri'ten  muget  ir  nu  winder  hoeren  sagen. 
It  will  be  seen  that  in  this  manner  the  ringing  caesura  counts 
for  two  accented  syllables.  It  is  a  fact  that  several  hemistichs 
must  be  read  according  to  this  rule,  although  some  scholars 
would  allow  to  the  last  syllable  only  a  secondary  accent,  if  any 
at  all.  We  simply  refer  here  to  a  few  passages,  as  2,  7,f  "  von 
fr  vil  hohen  werdekeit ; "  19, 1,  "er  mdhte  Hagenen  swestersun." 
There  are  also  some  hemistichs  in  the  second  half  of  the  first  three 
lines  which  have  four  accents.  In  conclusion,  we  may  say  that 
Laclimann  has  distinguished  himself  pre-eminently  by  his  investi- 
gations of  the  structure  of  the  Old  German  verse.  The  result 
of  his  labors  forms  still  the  fundamental  principle  on  which  more 
recent  works  on  this  subject  are  based.  We  may  mention  here 
Lachmanu's  essay,  "  Ueber  althochdeutsche  Betonuug  und  Vers- 

*  Germania,  XIX. 

t  In  Zarncke's  fifth  edition  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  based  on  Manu- 
script C. 


304  NOTES. 

kunst,  I  Abtheilung,  gelesen  in  der  Berliner  Akademie  am  21. 
April,  1832  "  (On  Old  High  German  Accentuation  and  Versifica- 
tion, Section  I.,  read  in  the  Academy  of  Berlin  on  April  21, 1832), 
and  also  his  "  Anmerkungen "  (Notes)  to  Iwein,  Nibelungen, 
Walther,  etc.,  in  which  very  valuable  remarks  on  this  important 
branch  of  study  can  be  found.  Besides  Lachmann  there  are  other 
scholars  who  deserve  great  praise  for  the  elucidation  of  the  sub- 
ject. We  refer  to  the  Introductions  of  Zarncke  and  Bartsch 
to  their  respective  editions  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied,  and  also  to 
the  Introduction  of  Bartsch  to  his  edition  of  Gudrun  (Kudrun). 


5.  (Cf.  p.  151.) — The  production  which  must  be  mentioned 
here  first,  chiefly  because  it  is  the  earliest  and  comes  from  a  justly 
renowned  poet,  is  De  la  Motte  Fouque's  "  Sigurd  der  Schlangen- 
todter  "  (Sigurd  the  Dragon-Slayer),  published  in  1808.  It  is 
divided  into  six  adventures:  this  term,  taken  from  the  Nibe- 
lungen Lied,  is  of  course  used  instead  of  act,  probably  also  to 
indicate  that  the  play,  which  is  written  in  the  form  of  a  drama, 
in  the  course  of  its  action  resembles  more  the  nature  of  an  epic. 
Fouque  used  in  some  instances  the  story  of  the  Nibelungen  Lied, 
but  generally  availed  himself  of  the  material  supplied  by  the 
Northern  traditions ;  thus,  in  the  last  act,  after  Sigurd's  death, 
Brynhild  stabs  herself  with  his  sword  and  rushes  into  the  flames 
of  the  funeral  pyre.  Gunnar's  mother  plays  an  important  part 
in  the  work,  and  the  effect  of  the  magic  drink  is  well  described. 
Sigurd  has  taken  a  draught  from  the  goblet  and  exclaims,  — 

"  What  has  become  of  me  ? 
From  my  remembrance  something  passed  away. 
Even  now  I  could  recall  it  well ;  and  dear 
It  was  to  me,  dear  to  my  deepest  heart. 
But  all  at  once  it  fled  my  mind ;  it  fell, 
As  't  were,  into  the  bottomless  great  sea. 
I  wander  by  the  shore ;  pray  let  me  seek  it." 

At  the  instigation  of  Gunnar's  mother  he  empties  the  goblet, 
and  the  past  —  his  love  of  Brynhild  —  is  shrouded  in  impene- 


NOTES.  305 

trable  darkness.  In  partial  accordance  with  the  Nibelungen 
Lied,  Sigurd,  riding  in  advance  of  the  royal  party,  announces  the 
approach  of  Brynhild  and  Gunnar.  In  the  meantime  the  effect 
of  the  magic  drink  has  gradually  become  weaker,  and,  while 
standing  alone  by  himself,  he  speaks  thus  :  — 

"  Why  am  I  not  with  them  ?    "What  holds  me  here  ? 

Is  it  again  that  vain  and  idle  musing 

On  things  that  long  ago  fled  from  my  thought 

And  yet  in  recollection  dim  now  stir  my  soul  ? 

Lo !  as  the  watchman  from  the  tower  announced 

The  youthful  queen's  approach,  my  mind  anew 

Was  turned  upon  —  the  wavering  fire.  —  What  was  it  P 

It 's  growing  more  distinct ;  and  for  some  time 

The  mist  has  e'er  rolled  backwards  more  and  more. 

I  rode  —  upon  my  troth  I  once  before 

Rode  through  the  glowing,  flickering  flame  —  and  found 

A  blessed  pang ;  —  its  name  was  ?  —  Hark,  the  trumpets  ! 

They  come.     I  must  be  hence.     But  only  this, 

But  this  I  will  recall ;  I  am  quite  near ;  — 

Its  name  ?  —  The  tumult  gives  me  now  no  rest. 

I  '11  go  to  meet  them  —  Brynhild  comes  !  —  Brynhild  ? 

She  there  ?     And  is  it  she  ?     It  was  Sigdrifa  ! 

Yet  she  was  mine.     And  what?  —  Now  Gunnar's  wife  ? 

Ha,  Gunnar !  Brandishing  his  sword.) 

No,  oh  no,  't  is  Gudrun's  brother  ! 
How  is  it  ?  —  Now  it  is  becoming  plain.    „ 
My  dearest  love,  my  Brynhild  !     Lo  !  the  clouds 
Of  darkness  are  withdrawing  from  my  mind. 
Alas,  too  late  !     I  have  another  wife, 
I  have  a  son.     Oh,  were  it  all  a  dream  ! 
Awake  me,  wake  me  !  —  Woe !  I  am  awake. 
My  love  is  pledged,  and  broken  is  my  word. 
My  troth  now  holds  me  here  and  draws  me  thither. 
Oh !  I  am  lost.  — 

I  feel  it  now,  with  magic  draught  of  ill 
I  was  deceived  ;  I  for  another  gained 
The  one  who  was  my  life !  —  Be  calm,  my  soul ; 
With  calmness,  Volsung,  bear  what  can't  be  changed !  " 


306  NOTES. 

There  are  also  many  lyrical  stanzas  with  alliterative  verses  in 
the  poem,  some  of  which  are  not  without  a  certain  beauty  in 
form  and  idea ;  and  upon  the  whole  Pouque's  work  was  at  least 
a  fair  beginning  in  the  endeavor  to  reproduce  the  ancient  Nibelung 
traditions.  No  such  favorable  opinion  can  be  held  of  "  Attila ; 
a  Romantic  Tragedy,"  published  in  1812  by  Zacharias  Werner, 
who  makes  the  king  of  the  Huns  a  relative  of  the  Burgundians, 
bestows  on  him  Odin's  sword  as  a  sword  of  judgment,  introduces 
Pope  Leo  into  the  play,  and  otherwise  presents  a  picture  of 
strange  incongruities,  although  a  very  few  scenes  are  conceived 
and  composed  in  a  highly  poetic  spirit. 

Besides  Pouque's  and  Werner's  poems  there  are  five  dramas 
which  comprise  the  whole  or  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Nibelung 
story.  They  were  written,  respectively,  by  P.  R.  Hermann  (1819), 
P.  W.  Miiller  (1822),  C.  P.  Eichhoru  (1824),  Ernst  Raupach 
(1834),  and  Priedrich  Hebbel  (1824:  3d  edition,  1874).  It 
must  be  admitted  that  Hermann,  a  pupil  of  Von  der  Hagen, 
was  filled  with  great  enthusiasm  for  the  old  hero  saga,  as  can 
be  seen  from  the  Preface  to  his  work ;  yet  his  poem  has  few 
artistic  merits.  In  Siegfried  appears  a  sentimental  Christian- 
ity combating  with  a  sort  of  romantic  fatalism ;  in  fact,  Hermann 
thought  he  perceived  the  Greek  fate  in  the  story  of  the  Nibelungen 
Lied.  At  the  same  time  the  language  not  infrequently  lacks 
nobleness  of  expression,  and  the  versification  is  often  rude.  The 
play  is  based  partly  on  the  lay  of  Siegfried,  partly  on  the  Nibe- 
lungen  Lied,  and  in  some  instances  on  the  Northern  traditions, 
all,  however,  with  not4  a  few  arbitrary  and  at  times  infelicitous 
changes.  Compared  with  Hermann's  production,  Muller'&  trag- 
edy, "  Chriemluld's  Rache,"  is  an  improvement  in  many  respects  ; 
the  language  is  dignified  and  refined,  and  on  the  whole  the  play 
is  conceived  with  much  poetic  spirit.  Yet  it  is  mostly  of  the 
poet's  own  invention,  and  reminds  us  rarely  of  the  contents  of  the 
Nibelung  saga.  Miiller,  justifying  his  attempt  by  referring  to 
Schiller's  "  Braut  von  Messina,"  introduces  the  chorus  in  his 
tragedy,  and  makes  it  act  as  a  mere  tool  in  the  hands  of  Kriem- 
hild.  In  EicAAom's  drama  peals  of  thunder  resound  twelve 


NOTES.  307 

times,  an  earthquake  takes  place,  and  a  comet  appears;  more- 
over, there  is  a  storm  on  the  Rhine,  and  there  are  apparitions 
of  the  ghosts  of  Siegfried,  Brunhild,  and  Ute.  Many  other  won- 
derful things  happen,  and  the  object  of  the  author  seemed  to  be 
mere  sensational  effect.  His  work  is  unique  in  its  kind,  and  it 
is  to  be  hoped  it  will  remain  so. 

Ernst  Raupach,  who  is  reported  to  have  written  more  than 
seventy  dramas,  published  in  1834  his  tragedy  "  Der  Nibelungen 
Ilort,"  which  was  the  first  of  the  modern  Nibelung  poems  that 
have  been  represented  on  the  stage,  where  for  several  years  it  met 
with  great  success.  It  is  above  the  average  Nibelung  drama, 
yet  not  without  some  blemishes.  The  quarrel  between  the  queens 
is  devoid  of  royal  dignity  and  becomes  a  mere  brawl.  Kriemhild 
had  promised  Siegfried  by  a  solemn  oath  not  to  marry  again,  and 
she  hears  of  Etzel's  wooing  only  after  Gunther  had  already,  from 
political  reasons,  pledged  her  hand  to  the  powerful  king  of  the 
Huns.  She  begs  Gunther  not  to  compel  her  to  commit  perjury, 
and  lowers  herself  so  far  as  on  her  knees  to  supplicate  Brunhild 
to  espouse  her  cause.  Brunhild's  reply  is  harsh  and  cynical,  and 
in  Kriemhild's  soul  arise  thoughts  of  vengeance.  Etzel  submits 
to  her  will  when  she  declares  that  she  refuses  to  become  his  wife 
until  he  has  revenged  her  wrong  on  her  kindred.  The  wedding 
is  celebrated  near  Worms,  in  the  camp  of  the  Huns,  where  all  the 
Burgundians  are  slain.  Brunhild  with  her  son  falls  into  the 
power  of  her  foes,  and  afterwards  throws  herself  with  him  into 
the  Rhine.  Etzel  goes  to  Kriemhild  and  apprises  her  of  the 
accomplished  revenge ;  she  stabs  him  with  her  dagger  and  in  her 
turn  is  killed  by  the  Huns.  Hebbel's  tragedy,  "  Die  Nibelungen," 
has  been  variously  judged  by  art  critics.  Although  Hebbel  from 
his  early  youth  had  taken  great  interest  in  the  Nibelung  story,  he 
was  particularly  induced  to  write  his  work  by  the  admiration 
which  he  felt  at  seeing  his  wife  play  with  remarkable  success  the 
part  of  Kriemhild  iu  Raupach's  tragedy.  Nevertheless  Hebbel 
spoke  in  disparagement  of  the  latter  poem,  and  asserted  that 
Raupach  was  not  a  son  of  Apollo.  When  we  compare  Hebbel's 
drama  with  the  material  of  the  Nibelung  saga,  and  consider  what 


308  NOTES. 

might  be  done  with  it  by  a  great  poet,  we  must  confess  that 
Hebbel  did  not  achieve  anything  very  noteworthy.  Without 
doubt  there  are  several  scenes  which  are  skilfully  and  even  very 
artistically  arranged,  and  the  play,  like  that  of  Raupach,  is  well 
adapted  for  theatrical  representations,  while  at  the  same  time  it 
must  be  admitted  that  Hebbel  was  a  painstaking  and  gifted 
writer.  Yet  when  we  inquire  how  he  has  done  justice  to  the  tradi- 
tions on  which  his  work  is  based,  the  answer  is  not  always  in 
favor  of  the  poet.  Thus  let  us  take,  for  instance,  the  scene  of 
Siegfried's  deatli  and  last  farewell,  as  found  iu  the  Nibelungen 
Lied,  when  Siegfried  says,  — 

"  But  naught  grieves  me  so  greatly  as  Dame  Kriemhild,  my  wife ;  " 
or  again,  — 

"  My  bloody,  murderous  death 

You  will  have  cause  to  grieve  for     in  time  to  come,  I  trow. 

You  may  believe  me  truly :     you  've  struck  your  own  death-blow." 

Now  what  shall  we  think  of  Hebbel's  Siegfried,  who  before  dying 

exclaims,  — 

"  You  e'er  shall  be  included  in  the  people's  curses, 
And  they  will  say,  '  Toads,  vipers,  and  Burgundians  !  ' 
But  no,  ye  first :  Burgundians,  vipers,  toads  !  " 

In  Hebbel's  poem,  moreover,  several  lines  which  precede  those 
just  quoted  are  still  worse,  and  Hagen's  remarks  after  Siegfried's 
death  are  simply  rude  and  unpoetical.  Besides  the  dramas  men- 
tioned above,  there  are  four  Kriemhild  tragedies,  in  which  Sieg- 
fried's widow  is  distinctly  the  central  figure  of  action.  They 
were  composed,  respectively,  by  R.  Reimar  (1853),  W.  Hosaus 
(1866),  Fr.  Arnd  (1875),  and  R.  Sigismund  (1875).  There 
exist  also  three  Brunhild  dramas,  whose  respective  authors  are 
Emauuel  Geibel  (1857;  4th  edition,  1877),  R.  Waldmiiller 
(1863),  and  R.  Sigismund  (1875).  Finally  we  may  mention  the 
Riidiger  dramas,  written  by  L.  Schenk  (1866),  W.  Osterwald 
(1863),  and  F.  Daliu  (1875).  There  is  also  an  anonymous 
drama  entitled  "  Helke,"  in  which  appear  Etzel,  his  wife  Helke, 
Riidiger,  Dietrich,  Hildebrand,  and  Riidiger's  wife  Gotelind.  It 


NOTES.  809 

is  by  no  means  necessary  for  our  purpose  to  review  here  these 
dramatic  productions,  since  none  of  them,  except  Geibel's  poem, 
betrays  any  brilliant  genius,  although  most  show  very  remarkable 
improvement  compared  with  the  works  briefly  referred  to  above. 


6.   (Cf.  p.  210.) 

There  was  Gudrun,  Juki's  daughter,     with  the  warlike  game  delighted ; 
The  more  men  Hogni  hewed  asunder,     the  more  were  quickly  reunited. 
There  was  Hogni,  Juki's  son  ;     he  good  heed  of  this  was  taking. 
Those  whom  he  had  slain  in  daytime,     she  was  e'er  at  night  awaking. 


7.  (Cf.  p.  212.)  —  As  scholars  differ  in  regard  to  the  Nibelung 
stanza,*  so  they  differ  also  about  the  Gudrun  stanza.  Some  as- 
sert that  the  ringing  caesura  and  the  female  rhymes  must  each  have 
two  accents.  The  first  stanza  of  the  poem  would  then  be  accented 
as  follows :  — 

Ez  wuohs  in  1'rlande     ein  ri'cher  kii'nic  he'r. 

Geheizen  was  er  Sigebant,     sin  vater  der  hiez  Ge'r. 

Sin  muoter  diu  hiez  tlote,     und  was  ein  kii'mginne. 

s-*\ 

Durh  ir  ho'he  tugende     so'  gezam  dern  ri'chen  wdl  ir  minne. 


8.   (Cf.  p.  226.)  —  The  dedication  reads  as  follows  :  — 
To  IVOE  AND  MERTHYE. 

MY  DEAE  CHILDREN, —  Infants  as  you  yet  are,  I  feel  that  I  cannot 
dedicate  more  fitly  than  to  you  these  venerable  relics  of  ancient  lore,  and 
I  do  so  in  the  hope  of  inciting  you  to  cultivate  the  literature  of  "  Gwyllt 
Walia,"  in  whose  beautiful  language  you  are  being  initiated,  and  amongst 
whose  free  mountains  you  were  born. 

May  you  become  early  imbued  with  the  chivalric  and  exalted  sense  of 
honor  and  the  fervent  patriotism  for  which  its  sons  have  ever  been 
celebrated. 

May  you  learn  to  emulate  the  noble  qualities  of  Ivor  Hael,  and  the 
firm  attachment  to  your  native  country  which  distinguished  that  Ivor 
Bach  after  whom  the  elder  of  you  was  named. 

I  am  your  affectionate  mother, 

DOWLAIS,  Aug.  29, 1838.  C.  E.  GUEST. 

*  See  p.  303. 


810  NOTES. 

9.  (Cf.  p.  253.)  — The  story  of  "  Peredur  the  son  of  Evrawc  " 
is  contained  in  the  second  part  of  the  first  volume  of  the  Mabi- 
nogion  from  the  "  Llyfr  Coch  O  Hergest,"  or  "  The  Red  Book  of 
Hergest,"  edited  and  translated  by  Lady  Charlotte  Guest  and 
preserved  in  the  library  of  Jesus  College,  Oxford.  A  brief  sketch 
of  the  story  is  given  here.* 

Earl  Evrawc,  the  ruler  of  the  North,  had  seven  sons.  He  was 
slain,  and  six  of  his  sons  likewise.  The  name  of  the  seventh  son 
was  Peredur,  and  his  mother  fled  with  him  to  the  deserts,  to  guard 
him  against  the  dangers  of  war.  No  one  was  permitted  to  bring 
either  horses  or  arms  where  he  was.  One  day  they  saw  three 
knights  coming  along  the  road  on  the  borders  of  the  forest.  They 
were  Gwalchmai,  son  of  Gwyar,  Geneir  Gwystyl,  and  Owaiii, 
the  son  of  Urien.  "Mother,"  said  Peredur,  "what  are  those 
yonder?"  "  They  are  angels,"  said  she.  "By  my  faith,"  said 
Peredur,  "  I  will  go  and  become  an  angel  with  them."  At  Pere- 
dur's  request,  Owain  explained  to  him  all  about  his  accoutrements 
of  war,  his  weapons,  and  their  uses.  Peredur  said  to  his  mother, 
"Those  men  were  not  angels,  but  honorable  knights."  Then  his 
mother  swooned  away.  Peredur  took  a  horse  and  with  twisted 
twigs  imitated  the  trappings  which  he  had  seen  upon  the  horses 
of  the  knights.  Before  he  took  leave  of  his  mother,  she  coun- 
selled him  in  about  the  same  manner  as  Herzeloide  advised  her 
son  before  he  left  her. 

Peredur  mounted  his  horse,  and,  taking  a  handful  of  sharp- 
pointed  forks  in  his  hand,  rode  forth.  After  two  days  and  two 
nights  he  came  to  a  vast  wildwood,  and  within  the  wood  he 
saw  a  glade.  In  the  latter  he  beheld  a  tent,  and,  the  tent  seem- 
ing to  him  to  be  a  church,  he  repeated,  according  to  his  mother's 
advice,  his  Paternoster.  Near  the  open  door  of  the  tent  sat  a 
lovely  maiden,  and  Peredur  entered  the  tent,  where  he  saw 
meat  and  wine.  "  My  mother  told  me,"  he  said  to  the  lady, 
"  wheresoever  I  saw  meat  and  drink,  to  take  it."  When  he  had 
finished  eating,  he  bent  on  his  knee  before  the  lady.  "My 
mother,"  said  he,  "  told  me,  wheresoever  I  saw  a  fair  jewel,  to 
*  Condensed  from  Lady  Guest's  translation. 


NOTES.  311 

take  it."  Peredur  took  her  ring  and  then  proceeded  on  Lis 
journey.  After  this  came  the  knight  who  was  the  lord  of  the 
glade.  He  saw  the  track  of  Peredur's  horse  and  asked  her, 
"  Did  he  offer  thee  any  wrong?  "  The  lady  answered,  "  By  my 
faith,  he  harmed  me  not."  But  the  knight  replied,  "  I  do  not 
believe  thee ;  and  until  I  can  meet  with  him  and  revenge  the 
insult  he  has  done  me  and  wreak  my  vengeance  on  him,  thou 
shalt  not  remain  two  nights  in  the  same  house."  The  knight 
arose  and  set  forth  to  seek  Peredur. 

Meanwhile  Peredur  arrived  at  Arthur's  court,  where  just  before 
a  knight  had  dashed  the  wine  from  a  golden  goblet  in  the  face 
of  Gwenhwyvar,  and  said,  "  If  any  have  the  boldness  to  dispute 
this  goblet  with  me,  and  to  revenge  the  insult  to  Gwenhwyvar, 
let  him  follow  me  to  the  meadow,  and  there  I  will  await  him." 
All  the  household  of  King  Arthur  hung  down  their  heads,  lest 
any  of  them  should  be  requested  to  avenge  the  insult.  Then 
Peredur  entered  the  hall  on  his  bony  horse  with  the  uncouth 
trappings,  and  asked  Sir  Kai  where  King  Arthur  was.  Sir  Kai 
answered  him  in  an  impolite  manner,  and  the  people  of  the  house- 
hold threw  sticks  at  Peredur.  Then  a  dwarf  came  forward ;  he 
had  been  a  year  at  Arthur's  court,  both  he  and  a  female  dwarf, 
and  during  the  whole  year  neither  of  them  had  spoken  a  single 
word  to  any  one.  When  the  dwarf  beheld  Peredur,  he  said, 
"  The  welcome  of  Heaven  be  to  thee,  goodly  Peredur,  son  of 
Evrawc,  the  chief  of  warriors  and  the  flower  of  knighthood."  Kai 
upbraided  the  dwarf  in  harsh  language,  and  gave  him  such  a  blow 
that  he  fell  senseless  to  the  ground.  Then  the  female  dwarf 
repeated  the  exclamation,  and  was  also  severely  punished  by  Kai. 
The  latter  said  to  Peredur,  "  Go  after  the  knight  who  went 
hence  to  the  meadow,  and  take  from  him  the  goblet,  and  overthrow 
him,  and  possess  thyself  of  his  horse  and  arms,  and  then  thou 
shalt  receive  the  order  of  knighthood."  Perednr  slew  the  knight, 
and  Owain  went  after  him  to  the  meadow,  where  he  found  Peredur 
dragging  the  man  about.  "  This  iron  coat,"  said  Peredur,  "  will 
never  come  off  him."  Owain  unfastened  the  armor  and  bade 
Peredur  come  with  him  to  Arthur  to  receive  the  order  of  knight- 


312  NOTES. 

hood.  But  Peredur  said,  "  Take  thou  the  goblet  to  Gwenhwy- 
var,  and  tell  Arthur  that  wherever  I  am,  I  will  be  his  vassal ; 
yet  I  will  not  come  to  his  court  until  I  have  encountered  the 
tall  man  that  is  there,  to  revenge  the  injury  he  did  to  the  dwarf 
and  dwarfess."  Peredur  rode  forward  and  met  a  knight  who  was 
an  enemy  of  Arthur.  They  fought  with  each  other  and  Peredur 
brought  the  knight  to  the  ground.  He  commanded  him  to  go  to 
Arthur's  court,  and  tell  the  king  that  he  had  been  overthrown  by 
Peredur  for  the  honor  of  his  service,  and  that  Peredur  would  not 
come  to  the  court  until  he  had  avenged  the  insult  offered  to  the 
dwarf  and  dwarfess.  During  that  week  Peredur  encountered 
sixteen  knights  and  overthrew  them  all.  They  went  to  Arthur's 
court,  taking  with  them  the  same  message  which  the  first  knight 
had  received  from  Peredur,  and  the  same  threat  which  he  had 
sent  to  Kai.  Thereupon  Kai  was  reproved  by  Arthur,  and  he 
was  greatly  grieved.  Afterwards  Peredur  came  to  the  castle 
of  a  venerable,  hoary-headed  man,*  who  said  to  him,  "Thou 
shalt  remain  with  me  a  space  in  order  to  learn  the  manners  and 
customs  of  different  countries,  and  courtesy,  and  gentleness,  and 
noble  bearing.  Leave,  then,  the  habits  and  discourse  of  thy 
mother,  and  I  will  be  thy  teacher.  If  thou  seest  aught  to  cause 
thee  wonder,  ask  not  the  meaning  of  it :  if  no  one  has  the  cour- 
tesy to  inform  thee,  the  reproach  will  not  fall  on  thee,  but  on  me 
that  am  thy  teacher." 

Afterwards  Peredur  rode  forth  and  came  to  a  vast  desert 
wood.  At  the  farther  end  of  the  wood  was  a  meadow,  and  on 
the  other  side  of  the  meadow  he  saw  a  large  castle.  Peredur 
found  the  gate  open  and  proceeded  to  the  hall.  He  beheld  a 
stately  man  sitting  on  one  side  of  the  hall,  with  many  pages 
around  him,  who  arose  to  receive  and  honor  Peredur ;  and  they 
placed  him  by  the  side  of  the  owner  of  the  palace.  The  latter 
asked  Peredur  after  the  banquet  whether  he  could  fight  with  a 
sword.  "  Were  I  to  receive  instruction,"  said  Peredur,  "  I  think 
I  could."  There  was  on  the  floor  of  the  hall  a  huge  staple,  as 

*  At  first  he  seems  to  be  the  same  as  Anfortas,  but  he  really  corre- 
sponds to  Gurnemanz. 


NOTES.  313 

large  as  a  warrior  could  grasp.  "  Take  yonder  sword,"  said  the 
man  to  Peredur,  "  and  strike  the  iron  staple."  Peredur  arose  and 
struck  the  staple  so  that  he  cut  it  in  two  :  and  the  sword  broke 
into  two  parts  also.  "  Place  the  two  parts  together,"  said  the 
man,  "  and  reunite  them."  Peredur  placed  them  together  and 
they  became  entire,  as  they  were  before.  A  second  time  he 
struck  upon  the  staple  so  that  both  it  and  the  sword  broke 
in  two,  and  as  before  they  reunited.  The  third  time  he  gave  a 
like  blow,  and  placed  the  broken,  parts  together,  but  neither 
the  staple  nor  the  sword  would  unite  as  before.  "  Youth,"  said 
the  man,  "  come  now  and  sit  down,  and  my  blessing  be  upon  thee- 
Thou  fightest  best  with  the  sword  of  any  man  in  the  kingdom. 
Thou  hast  arrived  at  two  thirds  of  thy  strength,  and  the  other 
third  thou  hast  not  yet  obtained ;  but  when  thou  attaiuest  to  thy 
full  power,  none  will  be  able  to  contend  with  thee.  I  am  thy 
uncle,  thy  mother's  brother,  and  I  am  brother  to  the  man  in 
whose  house  thou  wast  last  night." 

While  Peredur  and  his  uncle  discoursed  together,  he  beheld 
two  youths  enter  the  hall  and  proceed  up  to  the  chamber, 
bearing  a  spear  of  mighty  size,  with  three  streams  of  blood  flow- 
ing from  the  point  to  the  ground.  When  all  the  company  saw 
this,  they  began  wailing  and  lamenting  ;  but  for  all  that  the  man 
did  not  break  off  his  discourse  with  Peredur.  As  he  did  not 
tell  Peredur  the  meaning  of  what  he  saw,  he  forbore  to  ask  him 
concerning  it.  When  the  clamor  had  a  little  subsided,  behold 
two  maidens  entered,  with  a  large  salver  between  them,  in 
which  was  a  man's  head,  surrounded  by  a  profusion  of  blood. 
Thereupon  the  company  of  the  court  made  so  great  an  outcry 
that  it  was  irksome  to  be  in  the  same  hall  with  them  ;  but  at 
length  they  were  silent.  When  it  was  time  for  them  to  sleep, 
Peredur  was  brought  into  a  fair  chamber.  The  next  day,  with 
his  uncle's  permission,  he  rode  forth.  He  came  to  a  wood,  and 
far  within  the  wood  he  heard  a  loud  cry,  and  saw  a  beautiful 
woman  with  auburn  hair,  a  horse  with  a  saddle  upon  it  stand- 
ing near  her,  and  a  corpse  by  her  side.  As  she  strove  to  place 
the  corpse  on  the  horse,  it  fell  to  the  ground,  and  thereupon 


314  NOTES. 

she  made  a  great  lamentation.  "Tell  me,  sister,"  said  Peredur, 
"  wherefore  art  thou  bewailing  ?  "  "  Oh,  accursed  Peredur  ! 
little  pity  has  my  ill  fortune  ever  met  with  from  thee."  "  "Where- 
fore," said  he,  "  am  I  accursed?"  The  woman  replied:  "Because 
thou  wast  the  cause  of  thy  mother's  death ;  for  when  thou  didst 
ride  forth  against  her  will,  anguish  seized  upon  her  heart  so  that 
she  died ;  and  therefore  art  thou  accursed.  The  dwarf  and  the 
dwarfess  that  thou  sawest  at  Arthur's  court  were  the  dwarfs 
of  thy  father  and  mother.  I  am  thy  foster-sister,  and  this  was 
my  wedded  husband,  who  was  slain  by  the  knight  that  is  in 
the  glade  in  the  wood."  Peredur  buried  the  body  of  the  lady's 
husband,  went  in  quest  of  the  knight,  and  overthrew  him.  Then 
he  forced  him  to  marry  the  woman  and  go  to  Arthur's  court 
bearing  a  defiant  message  to  Kai.  When  the  knight  arrived  at 
Arthur's  court  and  told  the  king  what  had  happened,  Arthur 
exclaimed:  "By  my  faith!  I  will  search  all  the  deserts  in  the 
island  of  Britain  until  I  find  Peredur,  and  then  let  him  and  his 
adversary  do  their  utmost  to  each  other." 

Then  Peredur  rode  forward,  and  at  the  end  of  a  desert  wood 
he  saw  a  vast  castle.  The  lady  of  the  castle  was  in  great  distress 
on  account  of  the  hostile  knights  who  surrounded  her  dominion. 
She  asked  Peredur's  help,  and  he  defeated  her  enemies.  After- 
wards he  met  a  lady  mounted  on  a  horse  that  was  lean  and 
covered  with  sweat.  Peredur  said  to  her,  "Behold,  I  am  the 
knight  through  whom  thou  art  in  trouble,  and  he  shall  repent 
it  who  has  treated  thee  thus."  Then  Peredur  saw  the  lord  of 
the  lady,  and  they  were  not  long  in  combat  ere  Peredur  overthrew 
the  knight,  and  he  besought  his  mercy.  "Mercy  thou  shalt 
have,"  said  Peredur,  "so  thou  wilt  return  by  the  way  thou 
earnest  and  declare  that  thou  holdest  the  maiden  innocent,  and 
so  thou  wilt  acknowledge  unto  her  the  reverse  thou  hast 
sustained  at  my  hands."  And  the  knight  plighted  him  his  faith 
thereto. 

Peredur  rode  forward,  and  above  him  he  beheld  a  castle, 
whither  he  went.  He  struck  upon  the  gate  with  his  lance, 
and  a  comely,  auburn-haired  youth  opened  the  gate,  who  had 


NOTES.  315 

the  stature  of  a  warrior  and  the  years  of  a  boy.  And  when 
Peredur  came  into  the  hall,  there  was  a  tall  and  stately  lady  sit- 
ting in  a  chair,  with  many  handmaidens  around  her ;  and  the 
lady  rejoiced  at  his  coming.  After  the  repast  was  finished,  she 
said,  "  It  were  well  for  thee,  chieftain,  to  go  elsewhere  to  sleep." 
"  Wherefore  can  I  not  sleep  here  ?  "  said  Peredur.  The  lady  re- 
plied, "  Nine  sorceresses  are  here,  of  the  sorceresses  of  Glouces- 
ter, and  unless  we  can  make  our  escape  before  daybreak  we  shall 
be  slain ;  and  already  they  have  conquered  and  laid  waste  all  the 
country  except  this  one  dwelling."  Peredur  said,  "  I  will  re- 
main here  to-night,  and  if  you  are  in  trouble  I  will  do  you  what 
service  I  can ;  but  harm  shall  you  not  receive  from  me."  With 
the  break  of  day  he  heard  a  dreadful  outcry,  and  saw  a 
sorceress  overtake  one  of  the  watch,  who  cried  out  violently. 
Peredur  struck  the  sorceress  upon  the  head  with  his  sword,  so 
that  he  flattened  her  helmet  and  her  headpiece,  like  a  dish, 
upon  her  head.  She  said,  "  Thy  mercy,  goodly  Peredur,  son 
of  Evrawc,  and  the  mercy  of  Heaven  !  "  He  replied,  "  How 
knowest  thou,  hag,  that  I  am  Peredur  ?  "  The  sorceress  spoke  : 
"  By  destiny,  and  the  foreknowledge  that  I  should  suffer  harm 
from  thee.  And  thou  shalt  take  a  horse  and  armor  of  me,  and 
with  me  thou  shalt  go  to  learn  chivalry  and  the  use.  of  thy 
arms."  Peredur  said,  "  Thou  shalt  have  mercy  if  thou  pledge 
thy  faith  thou  wilt  nevermore  injure  the  dominions  of  the 
countess."  And  Peredur  took  surety  of  this,  and  set  forth  to 
the  palace  of  the  sorceresses.  There  he  remained  for  three 
weeks,  and  then  made  choice  of  a  horse  and  arms  and  went 
his  way. 

In  the  evening  he  entered  a  valley  and  came  to  a  hermit's 
cell;  the  hermit  welcomed  him  gladly,  and  there  he  spent  the 
night.  In  the  morning  he  arose ;  and  when  he  went  forth,  he 
found  that  a  shower  of  snow  had  fallen  the  night  before,  and  a 
hawk  had  killed  a  wild  fowl  in  front  of  the  cell.  The  noise  of  the 
horse  scared  the  hawk  away,  and  a  raven  alighted  upon  the  bird. 
And  Peredur  stood  and  compared  the  blackness  of  the  raven,  the 
whiteness  of  the  snow,  and  the  redness  of  the  blood,  to  the  hair 


316  NOTES. 

of  the  lady  that  best  he  loved,  which  was  blacker  than  jet,  and  to 
her  skin,  which  was  whiter  than  snow,  .and  to  the  two  red  spots 
on  her  cheeks,  which  were  redder  than  the  blood  on  the  snow 
appeared  to  be. 

Now  Arthur  and  his  household  were  in  search  of  Peredur. 
"  Kuow  ye,"  said  Arthur,  "  who  is  the  knight  with  the  long 
spear,  that  stands  by  the  brook  up  yonder  ?  "  Then  a  youth  went 
to  the  place  where  Peredur  was,  and  asked  him  what  he  was  doing 
there  and  who  he  was.  But  from  the  intensity  with  which  he 
thought  upon  the  lady  whom  best  he  loved,  he  gave  him  no  answer. 
The  youth  thrust  at  Peredur  with  his  lance,  and  Peredur  turned 
on  him  and  struck  him  over  his  horse's  crupper  to  the  ground. 
The  same  thing  happened  to  twenty-four  other  youths.  Then 
came  Kai  and  spoke  to  Peredur  rudely  and  angrily.  Peredur  took 
him  with  his  lance  under  the  jaw,  and  cast  him  from  him  with  a 
thrust,  so  that  he  broke  his  arm  and  his  shoulder-blade,  and  he 
rode  over  him  one-and-twenty  times.  Kai's  horse  returned  at  a 
wild  and  prancing  pace.  When  Arthur's  men  saw  the  horse 
come  back  without  his  rider  they  rode  forth  in  haste  to  the  place 
where  the  encounter  had  taken  place.  At  first  they  thought  that 
Kai  was  slain,  but  he  was  brought  to  Arthur's  tent,  and  Arthur 
caused  skilful  physicians  to  come  to  him.  Peredur  ceased  not  from 
his  meditation  on  seeing  the  concourse  that  was  around  Kai.  At 
last  Gwalchmai  went  to  Peredur,  who  was  resting  on  the  shaft 
of  his  spear,  pondering  the  same  thought.  Gwalchmai  addressed 
him  courteously,  and  Peredur  went  with  him  to  Arthur,  who 
paid  him  great  honor  and  respect,  and  they  returned  towards 
Caerlleon.  The  first  night  after  Peredur  came  to  Caerlleon,  as 
he  walked  in  the  city  after  his  repast,  there  met  him  Angharad 
Law  Eurawc  (Angharad  with  the  golden  hand).  He  said  to  her, 
"  Thou  art  a  beautiful  and  lovely  maiden,  and  were  it  pleasing  to 
thee,  I  could  love  thee  above  all  women."  The  lady  replied, 
"  I  pledge  my  faith  that  I  do  not  love  thee,  nor  will  I  ever  do 
so."  "  I  also  pledge  my  faith,"  said  Peredur,  "  that  I  will 
never  speak  a  word  to  any  Christian  again  until  thou  come  to 
love  me  above  all  other  men." 


NOTES.  317 

The  next  day  Peredur  went  forth  and  came  to  a  valley  of  cir- 
cular form,  the  confines  of  which  were  rocky  and  wooded.  In 
the  wood  there  he  slew  a  lion  and  overthrew  the  giants  of  the 
Round  Valley.  He  rode  forward  the  next  day,  and  killed  a 
serpent  that  lay  on  a  gold  ring  and  suffered  no  one  to  inhabit 
the  country  for  seven  miles  round.  He  was  for  a  long  time 
without  speaking  a  word  to  any  Christian.  He  lost  his  color 
and  his  aspect  through  extreme  longing  after  the  court  of 
Arthur  and  the  society  of  the  lady  whom  best  he  loved  and  of 
his  companions.  Then  he  proceeded  forward  to  Arthur's  court ; 
and  on  the  road  there  met  him  Arthur's  household  going  on  a 
particular  errand,  with  Kai  at  their  head.  Peredur  knew  them 
all,  but  none  of  the  household  recognized  him.  He  went  by  the 
name  of  the  Dumb  Youth,  and  vanquished  many  knights  who 
came  to  Arthur's  court  and  defied  the  king.  And,  behold, 
Angharad  Law  Eurawc  met  him.  "  I  declare  to  Heaven,  chief- 
tain," said  she,  "  woful  is  it  that  thou  canst  not  speak ;  for,  couldst 
thou  speak,  I  would  love  thee  best  of  all  men  ;  and  by  my  faith, 
although  thou  canst  not,  I  do  love  thee  above  all."  "  Heaven 
reward  thee,  my  sister,"  said  Peredur.  "  By  my  faith,  I  also  do 
love  thee."  Thereupon  it  was  known  that  he  was  Peredur. 
Then  he  held  fellowship  with  Gwalchmai  and  Owain,  the  son 
of  Urien,  and  all  the  household  ;  and  he  remained  for  a  time  in 
Arthur's  court.  Afterward  he  vanquished  and  slew  a  giant  who 
had  but  one  eye  and  was  called  the  Black  Oppressor.  Then  he 
rode  forward  and  came  to  the  palace  of  the  Sons  of  the  King  of 
Tortures,  and  to  the  Mound  of  Mourning.  He  slew  the  serpent 
Addam,  and  lived  fourteen  years  with  an  empress  whose  favor  he 
had  gained  by  his  unconquerable  valor.* 

Arthur  was  at  Caerlleon-upon-Usk,  his  principal  palace,  and  in 
the  centre  of  the  floor  of  the  hall  were  four  men  sitting  on  a 
carpet  of  velvet,  —  Owaiu,  the  son  of  Urien ;  Gwalchmai,  the 
son  of  Gwyar ;  Howel,  the  son  of  Emyr  Llydaw ;  and  Peredur 

*  The  adventures  referred  to  in  this  paragraph  do  not  occur  in  Wolf- 
ram's Parzival,  nor  in  Chretien  and  his  continuators,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  Mound  of  Mourning. 


318  NOTES. 

of  the  long  lance.  Thereupon  they  saw  a  curly-headed  black 
maiden  enter,  riding  on  a  yellow  mule,  with  jagged  thongs  in  her 
hand  to  urge  it  on,  and  with  a  rough  and  hideous  aspect. 
Blacker  were  her  face  and  hands  than  the  blackest  iron  covered 
with  pitch  and  her  hue  was  frightful.  High  cheeks  had  she, 
a  face  lengthened  downwards,  and  a  short  nose  with  distended 
nostrils.  One  ^ye  was  of  a  piercing  mottled  gray ;  the  other 
was  as  black  as  jet,  deep  sunk  in  her  head.  Her  teeth  were 
long  and  yellow ;  her  back  was  in  the  shape  of  a  crook.  The 
figure  was  very  thin  and  spare,  except  her  feet,  which  were  of 
huge  size.  She  greeted  Arthur  and  all  his  household  except 
Peredur;  and  to  Peredur  she  said,  "Peredur,  I  greet  thee  not, 
seeing  that  thou  dost  not  merit  it.  Blind  was  Fate  in  giving  thee 
fame  and  favor.  When  thou  wast  in  the  court  of  the  Lame 
King,  and  didst  see  there  the  youth  bearing  the  streaming  spear 
from  the  points  of  which  were  drops  of  blood  flowing  in  streams 
even  to  the  hand  of  the  youth,  and  many  other  wonders  likewise, 
thou  didst  uot  inquire  their  meaning  nor  their  cause.  Hadst 
thou  done  so,  the  king  would  have  been  restored  to  health, 
and  his  dominions  to  peace.  "Whereas  henceforth  he  will  have 
to  endure  battles  and  conflicts,  his  knights  will  perish,  and 
wives  will  be  widowed,  and  maidens  left  portionless ;  and  all 
this  is  because  of  thee."  Then  she  said  to  Arthur,  "May  it 
please  thee,  lord,  my  dwelling  is  far  hence,  in  the  stately  castle  of 
which  thou  hast  heard;  therein  are  five  hundred  and  sixty-six 
knights,  and  the  lady  whom  best  he  loves  with  each  ;  and  who- 
ever would  acquire  fame  in  arms,  encounters,  and  conflicts,  will 
gain  it  there,  if  he  deserve  it.  Whoever  would  reach  the  summit 
of  fame  and  honor,  I  know  where  he  may  find  it.  There  is  a  cas- 
tle on  a  lofty  mountain,  and  a  maiden  is  therein,  and  she  is  a 
prisoner.  Whoever  shall  set  her  free,  will  attain  the  summit  of 
the  fame  of  the  world."  Thereupon  she  rode  away.  Gwalchmai 
said,  "  By  my  faith,  I  will  not  rest  tranquilly  until  I  have  shown 
that  I  can  release  the  maiden."  Then  Peredur  exclaimed,  "  By 
my  faith  I  will  not  rest  tranquilly  until  I  know  the  story  and 
the  meaning  of  the  lance  whereof  the  black  maid  spoke." 


NOTES.  319 

While  they  were  equipping  themselves,  a  knight  came  to  the 
gate.  He  saluted  Arthur  and  all  his  household  except  Gwalch- 
mai ;  and  to  the  latter  he  said,  "  Thou  didst  slay  my  lord  by 
thy  treachery  and  deceit,  and  that  will  I  prove  upon  thee." 
Then  Gwalchmai  arose.  "Behold,"  said  he,  "here  is  my  gage 
against  thee,  to  maintain  either  in  this  place  or  wherever  else 
thou  wilt,  that  I  am  not  a  traitor  or  deceiver."  The  knight  said, 
"  Before  the  king  whom  I  obey,  will  I  that  my  encounter  with 
thee  take  place."  Gwalchmai  replied,  "  Go  forward  and  I  will 
follow  thee." 

At  the  dawn  of  day  Gwalchmai  came  to  a  fortress  in  a  valley, 
where  he  beheld  a  knight  coming  out  to  hunt  from  the  other  side, 
mounted  on  a  spirited,  snorting  black  palfrey.  Gwalchmai  saluted 
him,  and  the  knight  said,  "  Go  unto  my  palace,  if  it  may  please 
thee,  and  tarry  there  to-night.  Take  this  ring  as  a  token  to  the 
porter ;  go  forward  to  yonder  tower,  and  therein  thou  wilt  find 
my  sister."  Gwalchmai  proceeded  to  the  tower  of  the  palace, 
and  a  beauteous»and  stately  maiden  sat  on  a  chair  by  the  fire. 
The  maiden  was  glad  at  his  coming,  and  welcomed  him,  and 
advanced  to  meet  him.  He  went  and  sat  beside  her,  and  they 
took  their  repast;  and  while  they  discoursed  pleasantly  to- 
gether, there  entered  a  venerable  hoary-headed  man.  "  Ah,  base 
girl ! "  said  he,  "  if  thou  didst  think  that  it  was  right  for  thee 
to  entertain  and  sit  by  yonder  man,  thou  wouldst  not  do  so." 
And  he  withdrew  his  head,  and  went  away.  "  Ah,  chieftain  !  " 
said  the  maiden,  "  if  thou  wilt  do  as  I  counsel  thee,  thou  wilt 
shut  the  door,  lest  the  man  should  have  a  plot  against  thee." 
Upon  that  Gwalchmai  arose,  and  when  he  came  near  the  door, 
the  man,  with  sixty  others  fully  armed,  was  ascending  the 
tower.  And  Gwalchmai  defended  the  door  with  a  chessboard, 
that  none  might  enter  until  the  man  should  return  from  the 
chase.  Thereupon  the  earl  arrived,  and  the  hoary-headed  man 
said  to  him,  "  The  young  girl  yonder  has  been  sitting  and 
eating  with  him  who  slew  your  father."  The  earl  said  to  Gwalch- 
mai, "  Ha,  chieftain  !  it  was  wrong  of  thee  to  come  to  my  court 
when  thou  knewest  that  thou  didst  slay  my  father ;  but  though 


320  •  NOTES. 

we  cannot  avenge  him,  Heaven  will  avenge  him  on  thee." 
Gwalchmai  replied,  "  I  came  not  here  either  to  acknowledge  or  to 
deny  having  slain  thy  father ;  but  I  am  on  a  message  from  Arthur, 
and  therefore  do  I  crave  the  space  of  a  year  until  I  shall  return 
from  my  embassy,  and  then,  upon  my  faith,  I  will  come  back 
unto  this  palace  and  do  one  of  two  things,  —  either  acknowledge 
it  or  deny  it."  The  time  was  granted  him  willingly,  and  he 
remained  there  that  night ;  the  next  morning  he  rode  forth. 
And  the  story  relates  nothing  further  of  Gwalchmai  respecting 
this  adventure. 

Peredur  rode  forward,  seeking  tidings  of  the  black  maiden. 
He  met  a  clergyman,  who  upbraided  him  for  bearing  arms  on 
Good  Friday.  Peredur  was  moved  by  his  words,  and  went  afoot 
to  a  castle,  where  the  same  clergyman  entertained  him.  He 
remained  with  him  four  days.  At  last,  after  many  perilous 
adventures,  he  came  to  the  Castle  of  Wonders.  When  he  came 
to  the  hall,  the  door  was  open  and  he  entered.  He  beheld 
a  chessboard  in  the  hall,  and  the  chessmen  wei»  playing  against 
each  other  by  themselves.  But  the  side  that  he  favored  lost  the 
game,  and  thereupon  the  others  set  up  a  shout,  as  though  they 
had  been  living  men.  Peredur  was  wroth,  and  took  the  chess- 
men in  his  lap  and  cast  the  chessboard  into  the  lake.  When 
he  had  done  this,  the  black  maiden  came  in,  and  said  to  him, 
"  The  welcome  of  Heaven  be  not  unto  thee.  Thou  hadst  rather 
do  evil  than  good."  Peredur  said,  "What  complaint  hast  thou 
against  me,  maiden  ?  "  She  replied,  "  Thou  hast  occasioned 
unto  the  empress  the  loss  of  her  chessboard,  which  she  would  not 
have  lost  for  all  her  empire.  But  the  way  in  which  thou  mayest 
recover  the  chessboard  is  to  repair  to  a  castle  where  is  a  black 
man  who  lays  waste  the  dominions  of  the  empress  ;  if  thou  canst 
slay  him,  thou  wilt  recover  the  chessboard."  Peredur  slew  the 
black  man,  aud  when  he  returned  to  the  palace,  he  found  the 
black  maiden  there.  "  Ah,  maiden  !  "  said  Peredur,  "  where  is 
the  empress  ?  "  She  replied,  "  Thou  wilt  not  see  her  unless 
thou  dost  slay  the  monster  that  is  in  yonder  forest.  It  is  a  stag 
as  swift  as  the  swiftest  bird.  He  has  one  horn  in  his  forehead, 


NOTES.  321 

as  long  as  the  shaft  of  a  spear."  The  stag  attacked  Peredur,  who 
let  him  pass  by  him,  and  as  he  did  so,  he  smote  off  his  head 
with  his  sword.  While  he  was  looking  at  the  head  of  the  stag,  he 
saw  a  lady  on  horseback  coming  towards  him.  She  reproached 
him  for  killing  the  stag.  Her  anger  could  be  appeased  only  if 
Peredur  would  go  to  a  grove  and  challenge  a  man  three  times  to 
fight.  Peredur  did  so,  and  a  black  man  appeared,  mounted  upou 
a  bony  horse  ;  and  both  he  and  his  horse  were  clad  in  huge  rusty 
armor.  They  fought ;  but  as  often  as  Peredur  cast  the  black 
man  to  the  earth,  he  would  jump  again  into  his  saddle.  Peredur 
dismounted  and  drew  his  sword.  Thereupon  the  black  man  dis- 
appeared with  Peredur's  horse  and  his  own,  so  that  he  could  not 
gain  sight  of  him  a  second  time.  Peredur  went  along  the  moun- 
tain, and  on  the  other  side  of  it  he  beheld  a  castle  in  the 
valley,  wherein  was  a  river.  He  went  into  the  castle,  and 
there  he  saw  a  lame  gray-headed  man  sitting  on  one  side  of  the 
hall,  with  Gwalchmai  beside  him.  Peredur  beheld  his  horse, 
which  the  black  man.  had  taken,  in  the  same  stall  with  that  of 
Gwalchmai.  They  were  glad  concerning  Peredur;  and  he 
seated  himself  on  the  other  side  of  the  hoary-headed  man.  Then 
a  yellow-haired  youth  came,  who  bent  upon  the  knee  before  Pere- 
dur and  besought  his  friendship.  He  said,  "  Lord,  it  was  I  that 
came  in  the  form  of  the  black  maiden  to  Arthur's  court,  and  when 
thou  didst  throw  down  the  chessboard,  and  when  thou  didst  slay 
the  black  man  who  laid  waste  the  dominions  of  the  empress,  and 
when  thou  didst  slay  the  stag,  and  when  thou  didst  go  to  fight 
the  black  man  in  the  grove.  I  came  with  the  bloody  head  in  the 
salver,  and  with  the  lance  that  streamed  with  blood  from  the 
point  to  the  hand,  all  along  the  shaft ;  and  the  head  was  thy 
cousin's,  who  was  killed  by  the  sorceresses  of  Gloucester,  who 
also  lamed  thine  uncle  ;  and  I  am  thy  cousin.  There  is  a  predic- 
tion that  thou  art  to  avenge  these  things." 

Then  Peredur  and  Gwalchmai  took  counsel,  and  sent  to  Arthur 
and  his  household  to  beseech  them  to  come  against  the  sorceresses ; 
and  they  began  to  fight  with  them.  One  of  the  sorceresses 
slew  one  of  Arthur's  men  before  Peredur's  face,  and  Peredur 


322  NOTES. 

bade  her  forbear.  But  she  slew  a  man  before  Peredur's  face  a 
second  time,  and  a  second  time  he  forbade  her.  The  third  time 
the  sorceress  slew  a  man  before  the  face  of  Peredur,  and  then 
Peredur  drew  his  sword,  and  smote  her  on  the  helmet,  and  all  her 
head-armor  was  split  in  two  parts.  And  she  set  up  a  cry,  and 
desired  the  other  sorceresses  to  flee,  telling  them  that  this  was 
Peredur,  the  man  who  had  learned  chivalry  with  them  and  by 
whom  they  were  destined  to  be  slain.  Then  Arthur  and  his 
household  fell  upon  the  sorceresses,  and  slew  them  all.  And 
thus  is  it  related  concerning  the  Castle  of  Wonders. 


1O.  (Cf.  p.  255.)  — The  following  lines  are  taken  from  Sim- 
rock's  remarks  on  the  legendary  tales  of  John  the  Baptist.* 

Much  reverence  was  shown  to  the  head  of  John  the  Baptist  at 
an  early  time.  When  it  was  found  during  the  reign  of  the 
Arian  emperor  Valens,  it  was  in  the  possession  of  monks  be- 
longing to  the  sect  of  the  Macedonians,  the  followers  of  Mace- 
donius,  bishop  of  Constantinople  in  the  fourth  century.  The 
head  could  not  be  taken  to  Constantinople,  since  the  mules 
would  not  carry  it  any  farther  than  to  the  village  of  Cosilai,  near 
Chalcedon.  When  the  orthodox  emperor  Theodosius  ordered  it 
to  be  conveyed  thence  to  the  capital,  there  lived  at  Cosilai  a  pious 
matron  of  that  sect,  who  guarded  the  sacred  head,  and  resisted  its 
being  carried  away  with  all  her  power.  The  emperor  forbade 
taking  the  relic  from  her  by  force,  and  induced  the  woman  by 
kindness  to  yield  to  his  demands.  She  yielded  in  the  firm  convic- 
tion that  the  relic,  as  in  the  reign  of  Valens,  could  not  be  removed 
from  its  place.  Yet  the  head  was  conveyed  to  a  suburb  of  Con- 
stantinople, and  a  magnificent  temple  was  built  for  it.  The 
woman  remained  at  Cosilai ;  but  a  priest  of  Persian  descent,  who 
also  had  guarded  the  sacred  head,  followed  it  to  Constantinople, 
when  he  saw  that  it  did  not  resist  the  emperor's  will.  Then  the 

*  Page  344  in  Simrock's  introduction  to  his  translation  of  Parzival 
and  Titurel. 


NOTES.  323 

priest,  who  formerly  was  a  Macedonian,  became  a  Catholic,  and 
daily  presented  holy  offerings  over  the  relic. 


11.  (Cf.  p.  274.) — "  It  is  curious  how  this  last  particular  bas 
lived  to  this  day  in  the  '  Ballad  of  Lord  Lovel,'  which  is  still  sung 
by  the  country  people  of  England :  — 

'  And  out  of  her  breast  there  grew  a  red  rose, 
And  out  of  his  breast  a  brier.'  "  * 

*  Bayard  Taylor's  Studies  in  German  Literature,  p.  78. 


289 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
ttfllf  'j^V  %jKWE  on  ^e  last  date  stamped  below. 


,\ 


f 


IRL 
NOV  2  6  1978 


Z   SEP  ?1 1983 
$'19& 


MAY     9 1985 


rm  L9— Series  444 


F  CAUFORRI& 

. 

LOS  AKGELES 
LIBRAKY 


3  1158  00391    5260 


A     000  994  268 


